Rise of the Guardian: Ancient Power, Modern Age
by Guardian of the crest
Summary: A new drug has found it's way to Gotham. Mysterious as the shadows it's delt in, death isn't the only thing that's following this drug.....COMPLETED!
1. The Guardian is Coming

Gotc: Well hello there everybody!! Most of you on this side of FF probably don't know myself or the chaos that usually follows me where ever I go-

Ace: YOU STUPID WHALE!!!!! GIVE ME BACK MY JACKET!!!!!!!!

Gotc: sigh Speak of the devil...Readers, meet Ace, the main character in just about every story of mine(including this one), the bane of my very existence-

Ace: I can hear you, ya' know.

Gotc: Since when has that ever mattered? Now be good and say hi to the nice viewers, who will hopefully review.

Ace: You should stop reading while you still can.

Gotc: WHAT WAS THAT?!?!?!

Ace: Yo.

Gotc: Thought so. Anyway, like I was saying earlier, this is my first shot at posting a Justice League fic, though not the first one I've ever written. My very first fic was a JL fic, though I can only hope that my writing has gotten better since the 7th grade...

Ace: HA! Fat chance. Though I must say, I look waaaaaaay cooler now, but I'll let the readers discover that for themselves.

Gotc: Remind me to lock you in a closet later. This story is a JL version of a fic I've been posting on the Yu-gi-oh side of things for a couple of years now, but I hope you enjoy it all the same. Now to introduce the lovable, miniature killer whale that keeps my rear out of jail for copyright infringement, Squeaky the Whale!!!!! Squeaky!! Disclaimer!!

Squeaky: Squeak! (Translation: Hi there readers! Remember, Gotc doesn't own the League or any story lines that accompany them, though Ace is her slave for all eternity.)

Ace: I don't know whether to protest or jump off a cliff.

Gotc: Neither, the fic's starting. Have fun reading everybody!!!!

* * *

_Rise of the Guardian__: Ancient Power, Modern Age _

CHAPTER 1: The Guardian is Coming.

Shade. In the past eight weeks, it was a name the League had come to know all too well. It had taken over Gotham and Metropolis by storm, and was responsible for a death toll in the hundreds. One that continued to rise with every night that passed by. It was a drug, one that had seemingly appeared out of the very darkness in which it was dealt, and the darkness concealed well with it with a veil that yielded nothing.

Diana and J'onn hovered over the Watchtower's Monitor Womb, combing over every report that came in from every news station.

"They've just discovered two more on the south side of Gotham." J'onn announced.

"They're the tenth this week." The Amazonian princess sighed before rubbing the bridge of her nose, "Batman's not going to be happy at all about this."

"No, I can't imagine that he will." J'onn said bringing up a few more screens to display the various reports.

Diana tapped her com-link to get in touch with the rest of the League.

"Lantern, Flash. Report?"

"Nothing yet." Came the tired reply, "But we'll let you know if we come across something."

"Ok, but start heading back. You guys are going to need a break soon."she said before breaking off and turning to J'onn, "How's Superman and Hawkgirl?"

"Tired." he said before sitting down in a near by chair.

"So are Flash and Lantern." she said joining him, "We're running out of leads."

Since the appearance of Shade, they had been trying every trick in the book to find out where the drug was coming from, and who was making it. Roughly a week into the hunt, they'd come across a dealer during a routine patrol, but before they could question him, he disappeared without a trace. After that, the leads all but dried up into dust.

An excited voice from a reporter snapped her away from her thoughts and back to reality. Seconds later many others joined in on the same frenzied note.

"_We're just receiving word from local authorities in Gotham, that two men have been captured and have been linked to the sale of the drug, Shade. They are now reportedly being escorted to Arkham where they will be questioned by local police. As you know, the drug has been responsible for close to 300 deaths in the last month-_"

"Arkham?" Diana said puzzled, "That's odd. Commissioner Gordon never sends detainees to Arkham so soon after capture..."

"Perhaps they are recent escapees." J'onn mused.

"Batman? Do you copy?"

"What?" came the irritable reply.

Diana couldn't blame him for being upset. He was taking every life lost to the drug personally.

"We're receiving reports that there's been two men caught in connection with the Shade outbreak."

"Yes, but that news is old, and inaccurate."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, they were found over two hours ago on the doorstep of the police station."

"Wait, _found_?"

"That's what I said." The Dark Knight growled, "One was in shock and wouldn't talk to anybody. The other just kept repeating the same thing over and over again."

"Was that why they were sent to Arkham?"

"Yes."

"What was the one saying?"

There was a long pause on the other side of the link.

"_The Guardian is coming._"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Heh. Figures you'd want to meet in a place like this."

"What can I say? The bartender here knows how to mix his drinks. You're ten minutes late Jonathan."

Jonathan beckoned to the two bodyguards that had accompanied him into the small south side bar. There were only a few incoherent drunks left in the cobweb riddled establishment, and it was after midnight, so the chances he'd be needing them were slim. Still, the man sitting at the bar unnerved him. At first glance, he didn't look like much. A young man, tall and lean, wearing nothing more than a white t-shirt, ragged jeans, and a worn-out, faded blue jean jacket that disguised a finely toned body. His dark, raven black hair was tied back into a ponytail, and long bangs obscured penetrating azure eyes. He seemed to blend in so well, and at the same time was completely out of place.

"Are you going to sit down or not?" He asked.

"Always right to the point, aren't you Ace?"

"Time's too important to waste with pointless chatter. You have it or not?" Ace huffed.

Jonathan smirked and reached into his coat and pulled out a small vial, containing a fine black powder.

"Four hundred." Jonathan said rolling the vial around in his palm.

"Four?! Prices around town are less than two-fifty for that little." Ace growled, "Ripping people off isn't a good way to get return customers."

"I think you'll find we have no problem with that. Now, do we have a deal?"

Ace looked at Jonathan for a moment more, before pulling out a wad of money from his pocket.

"Here." he said tossing it to Jonathan, who in turn handed over the vial, "You know, having prices so high makes me think that there's a bit of a problem with you supply."

"What makes you say that?"Jonathan said looking up from counting the money.

"Well, with those two guys down by the docks getting caught, it just seems like you dealers are a bit nervous."

"How did you know about that?!"Jonathan said standing up abruptly.

"You're kidding right?" Ace said leaning back in his chair, "It's all over the news. Not like it's a big secret."

The two bodyguards took a couple steps toward Ace, as Jonathan reached into his coat.

"No one knew what sector they dealt in. You're the one that took them out!" he accused.

"That's right."

The two bodyguards lunged for Ace, only to have him leap out of his seat and on to the back of one of them, knocking him to the ground. A swift windmill kick to the neck felled the other before he could react. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jonathan produce a gun, but before he could fire off a shot, he whisked his glass off of the bar and threw it at his hand. The gun went flying as Jonathan howled in pain, and Ace grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the wall.

"Go ahead kill me." Jonathan said half hysterically

"Jeez you're an idiot." Ace scoffed, "If I was going to do that, I'd have done it by now. You're going to deliver a message to your boss for me. Tell him that I know who he is, and when I find him, I'm going to kill him."

Ace let Jonathan fall to the ground in a sniveling heap and tossed a hundred dollar bill to the bartender before walking out of the bar.

* * *

Gotc: So? You like? Sorry it's probably not as good as it could be, but I promise it gets a whole lot better next chapter.

Ace: See, told you I was cool...ish...

Gotc: Yeah, hold on th that dream. Anyway R&R if you please, flames and advice greatly appreciated here, and keep an eye out for the next chapter!!!!


	2. The Meeting

Gotc: Well, I'm back.

Ace: Yaaaaaay...

Gotc: Shut it. Anyway, the last chap started off a bit rocky, but I think this one will be a ton better.

Ace: Uh-huh, sure...

Gotc: One day you're gonna start listening to me...Like I said, this chap will be better, a bit more action, maybe a bit of a love interest? Either way you'll have to read to find out! Squeaky!!

Squeaky: Squeak! (Gotc does not own JL, so the thieves will have to look elsewhere. Oh, and Gotc wants me to remind the readers to review and stuff cause it makes her feel appreciated.)

Gotc: Thanks Squeaky. Enjoy!!! Oh by the way, _Italics_ are a character's thoughts. Now enjoy.

* * *

_Rise of the Guardian: Ancient Power, Modern Age _

CHAPTER 2 : The Meeting

Batman scoured the dark streets and alleyways of Gotham, his practiced eyes searching for anything that might be out of the ordinary. But tonight, he was distracted. The words of that Shade dealer still swarmed around in his head.

"_The Guardian is coming."_

Who was this Guardian? What did he have to do with the outbreak of Shade? How had he managed to scare two hardened criminals into near oblivion? And what was he doing in Gotham?

Batman sighed in frustration. Right now the last thing he needed to worry about was another rouge vigilante. Granted he was one himself, but the with the Justice League around him, it tended to help keep his emotions in check when it came to dealing with criminals. This Guardian had no such restraint.

Raised voices coming from a bar below caught his attention. He reached for his grapple to investigate when a single man casually walked out. Taking note of the direction he took, the Dark Knight swooped down and peered into the bar. Three men all lay unconscious and the bartender was nowhere to be seen. Batman picked up the receiver of the bar's pay phone and dialed 911 before taking off after the man.

Alleyways twisted and turned into a never ending maze of brick and concrete, with hardly a lone street light to illuminate the path in the fading light of the evening. Every moment that passed seemed to drag on for an eternity, and every step led Batman further and further into the dangerous labyrinth. He knew full well that many gangs and crime bosses used this side of town as a base of operations, and the last thing he wanted to do was accidentally stumble across one with out backup. But every turn he made only reveled another trash filled alley. At last he stopped, knowing that going any further was a foolish idea.

"You know, I wondered how long you would keep following me for." A voice be hind him said.

Batman spun around, several batarangs already in his hand. A young man stood before hi, hands stuffed in the pockets of his jacket.

"Put those away." He said, "I didn't come here to fight you."

"What were you doing in that bar?" Batman said ignoring him.

"Having a drink." He shrugged, "Name's Ace Cooper. You?"

Batman responded with an icy glare.

"Oh that's right," Ace said, "You Justice League people don't give out that kind of information huh?"

"No, we just like the costumes." Batman growled, "There are three men unconscious in that bar you just walked out of. Care to tell me why?"

"You know, I had to go almost fourteen blocks out of my way to make sure no one was following you." Ace continued, "Those Shade dealers have all sorts of spies out around town, and I'm sure a couple will be looking for me after they find out I took out one of their top sellers."

"So you did attack those three men in the bar."

"Actually, they attacked me," Ace said, "Look, Batboy, or whatever they call you. You and your superpals will do better if you sit this one out. Believe me when I say, these people are the last you want to get involved with."

"You seem to have no problem taking them on by yourself." Batman said.

"I have experience." Ace said reaching into his jacket and pulling out a vial, "You know what this is? This is Shade."

"How did you-"

"Shut up and listen, you may learn something." Ace growled, "This is actually not a new drug. It's been around for hundreds of years, and as I'm sure you've discovered, it's incredibly easy to go overboard with the stuff. It's a berserker drug. A steroid on steroids, if you catch my drift. The samurai of Japan would take it before going off to battle, giving them increased stamina, strength, and a seemingly immortal appearance after taking blows that should have killed them."

"And you know about this how?" Batman asked.

"Hmph, you don't listen very well do you?"

"..."

"Look, I could care less if you and your buddies go out there and get some of this stuff off the street by busting some kid who has it," Ace said turning to leave, "But I suggest that you leave this alone, or you're going to be faced with way more than you're little organization can handle."

Ace turned around and started to walk away, when a batarang whizzed past his head and ricocheted off of a wall.

"You're not going anywhere. Even if all of that is true, you're in possession of a controlled substance. Which happens to be against the law." Batman said reaching for a percussion grenade.

"Last I checked, so was being a vigilante." Ace said over his shoulder, "I'm warning you one last time: Stay out of this."

"Sorry."

Batman tossed the grenade directly at Ace, detonating it right in front of his face. With out hesitation, he threw several batarangs into the smoke cloud for good measure, and stood ready for any attack Ace might try. Everything was quiet, and though the dust had started to settle, he still couldn't see into it.

"_Must have knocked him out..."_

Suddenly, four batarangs fell right in front of him, and hit the ground with a metallic clank.

"You're far too predictable," Ace sighed behind him.

"How-"

"When you wake up, I suggest you take my advice."

Before Batman could turn around, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck. The world spun around once, before darkness claimed him.

Ace grabbed Batman's cape as he fell, and drug the Dark Knight behind a dumpster, and went through his utility belt until he found a tracking device.

"You'll be safe enough here until you're friends can find you." Ace said to him, as he activated the transponder, before disappearing into the twilight, leaving behind only a faint beeping

-------------------------------------------

"Are you sure about this Wonder Woman?" Flash asked as he zipped from street to street.

"Yes. Alfred said Batman never came back last night, and he's not answering his com-link." She replied soaring overhead, "It's not like him to be out of touch for so long, especially these days. Superman, do you have anything?"

"I'm not sure, but I think I can here a transponder roughly coming from where you and Flash are now." He replied.

"Yeah, well it would certainly help if I had your hearing," Flash huffed.

The Scarlet Speedster finished with another alley leaving no piece of garbage unturned, and was about to speed off, when a man came running out of an adjacent alley.

"Hey! You there! Are you one of the Justice League?! Some guy in a bat costume is out cold back here!"

"Can you show me where he is?" Flash asked rushing over to him.

"Yeah, sure," the man said pointing down the alley, "He's about four or five blocks this wa-"

Flash cut him off and picked him up under his arm before taking off in the direction the man had pointed.

"Wait! Stop!" He cried after a three second trip.

Flash came to an abrupt halt and set the man on his feet, only to have him clutch his stomach and stumble to the nearest wall for support.

"H-he's behind...that dumpster..." He said turning a shade of pale green before bending over and losing his breakfast.

"Oooo...sorry about that," Flash grimaced, then remembering the whole reason he'd come down here, moved the dumpster and reveled his missing comrade.

"Guys! He's down here! He's out cold, but he seems to be ok." Flash reported before breaking open smelling salts under his friend's nose.

Batman coughed and sputtered a few times, before coming around.

"Hey there Bats, "Flash sighed, "You gave us quite a scare."

By the time the rest of the League arrived, Batman was starting to recover enough to recall the events of the night before.

"So let me get this straight," Flash said after Batman had recounted his story, "You were taken out by just one guy?!"

Everyone glared angrily at Flash.

"What?! It is Bats we're talking about."

"Maybe you should shut up for once." Green Lantern said crossing his arms.

"Flash does have a point." Superman said, "Out of all of you, Batman is one of the last people I'd want to fight."

"Superman's right." Hawkgirl agreed, "If he's strong enough to take down Batman, we need to be on our guard. Who ever this Ace Cooper is, he's obviously very dangerous."

"Ace Cooper?! And you're not dead?!"

"The League turned around to face the man who had found Batman. He had obviously recovered from his bout of motion sickness enough to listen in on their conversation.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt." He apologized.

"And who might you be?" J'onn asked

"Argon," He said with a small bow

His appearance was slightly odd. Spiked fire red hair adorned the top of his head, shading his sharp green eyes. A black jacket and pair of jeans hung on a sturdy, yet lean frame.

"Strange name." Hawkgirl said suspiciously.

"Mother was a fan of Ancient Greece." He explained.

"I can tell," Wonder Woman said folding her arms, "How do you know about this man?"

"You've got to be kidding me," Argon scoffed, "Ace is the undefeated fifteen time World Martial Arts Champion. His name is practically legend to every aspiring martial artist. No one's ever even been able to so much as touch him. I'll be willing to bet that your buddy over there never even seen Ace move before he bit the dust."

"Just because he's an accomplished fighter, doesn't automatically make him a killer." Superman reasoned.

"Heh. You Suits are so naive." Argon said shaking his head

"Care to run that past me again?!"Hawkgirl said grabbing Argon's collar.

"Look Pigeongirl," Argon growled, "Ace hasn't been seen or heard of in close to five years. After the incident, he all but disappeared off the face of the Earth. Now you want to put me down or not?"

Hawkgirl glared at Argon for a moment before relinquishing her hold on him.

"What incident?" Wonder Woman asked.

"You seven seem to figure these things out pretty well on your own, so I won't spoil everything for you." Argon said walking away, "Oh, glad your friend's alright."

"Thanks for the tip." Superman said.

"No problem," Argon said vanishing around the corner, "But if I were you, I'd stay as far away from Ace Cooper as you possibly could."

-----------------------------------------------------------------

"Think we can trust what that guy said? Flash asked.

"I'm not sure." Superman pondered, "But right now it's all we have. We need to find this guy as soon as possible."

"Whoa! Didn't that guy just say to stay away from him?" Flash recalled.

"Think about it hotshot," Lantern said, "Do you think it's better letting this guy run loose around innocent people?"

"Well no."

"The quit the wining and get searching."

Flash scowled at Green Lantern before taking off. Hawkgirl and Green Lantern followed suit and took to the skies.

"J'onn, take Batman back to the Watchtower and run a diagnostic to be safe." Superman said leaping into the air.

"No, this is my city and I will not let someone else do my job when I'm perfectly capable of doing it myself." Batman protested.

"Bruce, you're in no condition for this right now. And we need you at the Watchtower to find out what 'incident' Argon was talking about. My decision is final." Superman said before taking off after the others.

Batman angrily punched the dumpster that had concealed him for most of the night, and nearly fell over as everything around him began to spin. He still wasn't fully recovered yet, but that didn't mean that he wasn't able to do his job.

"Bruce, Superman's only doing what he thinks is right." Wonder Woman said, "This Shade has affected Metropolis too. He's just as adamant about it as you are."

"It's no excuse." He growled.

"Please, just go to the Watchtower and get some rest." She pleaded.

Batman stared silently at the dent he had made for a moment.

"Fine."

"Thank you." Wonder woman said taking off, then added, "I'm glad you're ok."

--------------------------------

Argon walked for several blocks before his cell phone began to ring.

"What is it?" He growled into it

"You're late." An irritated voice said, "What's taking you so long?"

"I had a run-in with the League"

"You idiot! I told you to-"

"Oh please, do you really think I"d let myself be caught by them? I'm better at this than you give me credit for." Argon said, "And besides, if I hadn't, I wouldn't have found out that Ace Cooper was in the city."

"WHAT?!"

"Knock it off. Panic doesn't suit you. Right now the League's after him and we're in the clear for now, though there's no doubt in my mind Cooper knows we're here."

"It's a dangerous game you're playing my friend."

"That's what you hired me for." Argon said before hanging up the phone.

* * *

Gotc: WOO!! Much better.

Ace: Not too bad...I like the mysterious thing with me.

Gotc: Shut your face before you give everything away. Anyway, I'd like to extend my thanks to moogsthewriter for the review! And I hope this is enough to keep you entertained until my next post! See ya everybody!! R&R!!


	3. More than Meets the Eye

Gotc: Well I've got a grand total of like two days left to write before school starts again an consumes my entire life...stupid journalism...

Ace: You wanted to take the class.

Gotc: Yeah well, I didn't think I'd be stuck with idiots again this year. sigh But that's what fanfiction's for right?

Ace: Maybe in the world you live in.

Gotc: T-T Thanks Ace...I think I'll go jump in a river now...well after this chap maybe.

Ace: stops grabbing party stuff Darn.

Gotc: Squeaky!!!

Squeaky: Squeak! (If you haven't figured out that Gotc doesn't own this stuff by now, then you may want to join her in the bridge jumping thing.)

Ace: You wouldn't be interested in going would you?

Squeaky: Squeak. (Nope.)

Gotc: We'll let them figure this out. Read on! P.S: italics are also for other languages... you'll see.

* * *

_Rise of the Guardian: Ancient Power, Modern Age _

CHAPTER 3: More than Meets the Eye

In the rough downtown streets of Gotham, it didn't take long for Wonder Woman to realize that her costume attracted far too much unwanted attention, and drove away anyone who may have had any information as to the whereabouts of Ace Cooper. Most people on this side of Gotham wanted as little to do with the Justice League as humanly possible. She ducked into a clothing store, much to the surprise of the clerk, and picked out a form-fitting, pale green shirt, and a pair of jeans.

"No, p-please. I-it's on the house." The clerk said as she tried to pay.

Diana shrugged, and left the money on the counter anyway after a quick change, and put her costume in a bag . (A/n: personal relations, or the incognito thing will be on first name basis.) Now people were open and friendly, but no one had any idea who Ace Cooper even was. There was one boy who had watched a fight of his on t.v. several years ago, but when she asked if he was in Gotham, he just walked away laughing.

She was getting nowhere, and now it was well past noon and right in the heat of the day. She sat down on the banister of old boarding house for a break, when a commotion inside caught her attention. She didn't think much of it until she heard the unmistakable sound of things being thrown, and shattering against a wall or it's intended target. Deciding that maybe she should be moving on she got up from her seat, but before she started to walk away, the door to the building opened, and a man came falling backwards out of it. He tumbled down the stairs head first, and came to a rest half sticking into the sidewalk.

"LENA, YOU SHE-WITCH!!!! THAT HURT!!!!" He yelled back at the door rubbing the back of his head.

"That's what you get for getting two months behind on your rent!" An older woman shouted back at him, when you pay me back I"ll let you back in."

"But all my stuff's in there!!!"

"Collateral to make sure you get my money." She said in a matter-of-fact tone, "Now get moving Ace, money doesn't just fall from the sky you know."

The woman walked away, shutting the door behind her, leaving Ace glaring daggers at it. Diana stared at the man in front of her. The old woman had just called him Ace, and as far as she knew, Ace wasn't a popular name, but...There was no way that this could be the same man that had taken out Batman the night before, could it?

The man finally noticed Diana standing behind him, and craned his head backwards to get a better look at her.

"Oh hello." He said politely before hopping to his feet and turning to face her, "Sorry about all that. Name's Ace Cooper. You?"

Diana hesitated. It was him. He matched Batman's description perfectly, right down to the jean jacket.

"Oh, well you don't have to tell me your name if you don't want." He said pulling his hand back, "You just looked new around here, like you were lost or something."

"Oh! No. I was...just looking for someone." She said quickly. It wasn't a lie, and besides, she couldn't risk losing him now that she had found him, "My name's Diana."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Diana." He said with a smile, "I have a good friend who's name is Diana. Well, I've got nothing better to do for the rest of the day now that I'm homeless, so would you like a tour?"

"_Oh great...Now what do I do? I can't get in touch with the League if I'm wandering around Gotham with this guy..."_

"Diana, go with him," came Superman's voice over the com-link, "You hadn't reported in for awhile, so I asked J'onn to tap into your com in case you were in trouble. I've already contacted the rest of the League, so they already know what's going on. We'll be right behind you if something goes wrong."

"Um, sure! That sounds like fun."She said with a confident nod.

"Cool. Maybe we can find your friend while we're out. You run into all kinds of people on this side of town." Ace said leading the way.

Diana started to follow him as he continued to talk, smiling and nodding, but not really listening. There was no way this could be right. This guy was supposed to be some evil monster with connections in the Shade dealings, not the one leading her around the South District and talking about the buildings there and which ones he liked best. She was usually a fairly good judge of character, and while this guy was definitely odd, he wasn't dangerous. His eyes did catch here attention though. They were by no means easy to read, on the surface hey were bright, and happy, without a care in the world. But something ran deeper than that. She could see years of pain bleeding through them, especially when he called her by name.

"So Ace," she asked, "How long have you been in Gotham?"

"Hmmm..." Good question." He mused, "I guess close to six months."

"Where did you live before here?"

"A bunch of different places. Egypt, Japan, France, a tiny island in the South Pacific. I've been allover the world. Though I stopped traveling as much."

"Why?"

"Well, you get attached to people. And it just gets harder and harder to leave every time."

"So why didn't you just stay?"

"There were always a number of reasons. Money, wanderlust, a new opportunity. I've never been able to stay in one place for too long."

" Then what do you do?"

"Do?"

"Like a job."

"Oh! I don't have a job per-se, I'm more of a handyman. I do odd jobs here and there for different people." He said, " I've always been good with my hands, and I never learned any real entrepreneurial trade that just keeps the money coming in. When things were better, I could usually count on one big paycheck that I would live off of for most of the year, but recently I've been pretty short on cash."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be." He chuckled, " I do alright for myself when things get tough. What about you?"

"I do...a lot of volunteer work."

"Cool. Oh you're gonna love this place," He said changing the subject.

They rounded a corner and walked into a large plaza. A huge fountain decorated the center, spouting jets of water high into the air. Shops and stalls dotted the square, selling anything from fish to jewelry. The whole place buzzed with life. Kids played various games around the fountain, while their parents shopped the different stores.

"This place is beautiful." Diana said in awe. She could hardly imagine a place like this in such a rundown part of the city, much less believe that she was seeing it with her own eyes.

"Best kept secret of Gotham," Ace said with pride, " I must have stood here with my mouth open for five minutes the first time I saw it."

Suddenly, a group of happy kids started running towards them and plowed over Ace, some jumping onto his shoulders, others grabbing onto his legs and arms.

"Hey guys! Knock it off, I can't move! Come on I'm gonna-"

Ace didn't get to finish before he toppled to the ground, and lay in a laughing heap.

"Alright," He laughed, "Get off. There's someone I'd like you guys to meet. Everybody, this is Diana. Diana, everybody."

"Hello." She said with a smile.

"You're pretty." One little girl came up to her and said, "You look like a princess."

Diana blushed a deep red.

"Thank you."

"Ace!" She said, turning around, "Guess what?! Today's my birthday!!"

"It is?! Well just how old are you Anna?" He said bending down.

"Six!" She squealed, "And look! I got a new doll!"

"Well isn't that nice?" Ace said standing back up, "Hm. What am I going to get you though?"

In the blink of an eye, he snatched Anna up and set her on his shoulders, and trotted off to the nearest store with a trail of kids in tow. Diana followed despite herself. Once inside, Ace let Anna off and set her loose in the store, while he picked up several bags of groceries.

"Afternoon Ace." the storekeeper greeted them.

"Hey Sam," Ace said coming up to the counter, "Hey, you wouldn't happen to have Sarah's medicine in by any chance, would ya?"

"Ace, that stuff's expensive." Sam said seriously, "And I heard Lena kicked you out this morning too."

"I'll survive," Ace shrugged setting the bags on the counter, "These too if you don't mind."

"Ace!" Anna said running up to them holding a robin's egg blue dress, "Can I get this?! Please? It's so pretty!"

"Of course," Ace smiled.

"Ace..." Sam said worriedly

"Don't worry about it. Now how much do I owe ya?"

"Eighty-seven fifty."Ace counted out the money and handed it to Sam. Anna put on her new dress and ran outside with the other kids.

"Ace! I'm gonna go show my mommy ok?!" She called back.

"Alright! Hey, tell her I'll be there in a few minutes to drop off a few things ok?"

"'Kay!" She called before taking off for home.

"So, tell me something," Diana said heading down the same alley Anna had taken, "You don't have enough money to put a roof over your own head, but you're buying gifts for a six year-old girl?"

"Why not?" Ace shrugged, "You're only young once. Besides, she lives alone with her mom who has a heart condition. Happy days for a kid like that are far and few between. She should at least be happy on her birthday."

That was an answer Diana wasn't expecting. She'd dealt with pretenders before, people blending in making friend to disguise who they really were, but this seemed far too genuine to be fake.

Diana was so deep in though that she didn't see the trash can in front of her. Ace laughed as he helped her to her feet.

"You need to be a bit more careful," He chuckled.

"Well you could have warned me." Diana huffed walking off.

"Hold on! You dropped your bag!" Ace called after her and bending down to get her bag.

Diana's heart froze in her chest, and one of her manacles rolled from the bag as Ace picked it up. They both stared at it for a brief moment before Ace grabbed it too and handed them back to Diana, but not before looking the manacle over.

"It's make is beautiful." He said rolling it about in his hands, "It's as polished as silver but strong as steel. Who ever made this was truly an expert craftsman, I've never seen its equal."

He handed it back to Diana, who hurriedly stuffed it into her bag again. Ace shrugged his shoulders and walked ahead. For a moment, she thought she was in the clear, until Ace dropped to the ground and swung his leg at her feet.

Years of fighting instincts kicked in and Diana jumped into the air to avoid being knocked to the ground. Ace picked himself off of the ground and looked up at Wonder Woman.

"That's what I thought." Ace grinned, " Now, you mind telling me why you've been following me around all day?"

"Can't a superhero enjoy a day off?" Wonder Woman retorted.

"Please, drop the act. It's rather annoying."

"You attacked one of us last night," She said, "Don't tell me that you didn't think we would find you."

"Not this soon I'll admit. And for the record, he attacked me first." Ace pointed out

"Well now it's our turn." Superman's voice called as the rest of the League arrived

"Oh God. There's more of you?" Ace sighed exasperatedly.(A/n: not even sure if this is a word.)

"What did you think was gonna happen when you attack one of us?" Flash barked.

"You take it as a hint and keep your colored pajamas out of other people's business."

"Why you-!" Flash growled before attacking.

The Scarlet Speedster threw a punch right at Ace's head, only to have him sidestep at the last second and connect with a punch of his own. Flash crumpled over Ace's fist and dropped to the ground.

"Stay there, "Ace growled to Flash, "Now, are the rest of you gonna leave me alone, or do I have to make the rest of you look like nothing more than a bunch of kids at Halloween?"

"Sorry, but we don't take to kindly to threats. "Superman said diving out of the air.

This time, Ace met the Man of Steel head on, grabbing both fists meant for him, and stopping him dead in his tracks.

"No way."

Ace smirked as he threw Superman into Green Lantern, sending them both crashing an adjacent building. Out of the corner of his eye, he seen Hawkgirl bearing down on top of him, mace poised to strike. He grabbed the mace as she swung, and used her momentum to slingshot her into a nearby dumpster, then hurl the mace at a charging Wonder Woman, dropping her out of the sky.

"You guys are pathetic," Ace mocked, "If they call you Earth's greatest heroes, I am seriously concerned."

A blast of green light cleared the hole Superman and Lantern had crashed through, allowing them to climb back into the alley.

"Well," Green lantern said, "That Argon guy did say he was tough."

The name caught Ace's attention, and ignited a fire behind his azure eyes.

"What was that name?!!" He snarled at Lantern.

At that moment Hawkgirl's fist connected with Ace's face, knocking him backwards.

"You wanna call us 'pathetic' now?!"

Ace turned to her, his cheek split open and bleeding, but both eyes blazing with rage. He grabbed Hawkgirl and threw her hard into Superman and Lantern before taking off down the alley. Wonder Woman took off into the air in hot pursuit. He lead her through the twisting passages, and into an abandoned factory lot, where she finally manages to tackle him.

"What's so important about Argon huh?!?" Wonder Woman said pinning Ace to the ground.

Ace stared fiercely at Wonder Woman.

"_Renhi tunhec Argon dacreli se comen nitu hali." _He growled back at her, before kicking her in the stomach, and taking off again.

Wonder Woman watched after him stunned, unsure of what she had just heard. The language was ancient, older than Latin or Greek, and it was one she had never heard come from the mouths of anyone outside of Theymascara. It was Atlantean.

* * *

Gotc: Yay for the cliffie! Unfortunately I'm in a hurry, so short afterword here. Don't forget to review, cause they make me feel loved. I might be able to put up another chap, but if not, I'll be able to post again this summer. Thx for reading!!!! 


	4. A Dark Motive

Gotc: Hey y'all!!!! Well I've just been on a roughly four hour Weffriddle marathon kick, and had to do my disclaimer while I was on this high... My cuz is in the same room with me too, so we can only pray that reality doesn't come crashing down around us.

Cuz: SLIPPERS!!!!!! laughs uncontrollably falls off bed smashes cat

Ace: Oh dear god...There's two of you...whoever thought that it would be a good idea to mix genes of a insane asylum escapee, and a pyromaniac needs to be flattened by a steamroller and put through a fax machine to the President.

Gotc: And here I though you had a problem with authority... LET'S PLAY TWISTER!!!!

Ace: Maybe when hell freezes over.

Cuz: But it'll be fun!!!!OHPLEASEOHPLEASEOHPLEASEOHPLEASEOHPLEASEOHPLEASEOH-

Ace: I think I'm gonna need to be shot after this...SQUEAKY!!!! GET IN HERE AND DO THE DISCLAIMER BEFORE I BECOME A CONVICTED FELON!!!!

Squeaky: looks up from Twister Squeak?

Ace: smacks forehead with palm Fine...Gotc does not own JL, you people need to figure this out soon, cause if this goes on much longer, we're not gonna have an authoress...

ostrich pops up out of nowhere

Cuz: I WANNA RIDE IT!!!!!!!!!!!

Ace: I fear for mankind the day you two are old enough to drink...

Gotc: And hopefully you'll be there to see it. Have fun with the fic people!!!!

* * *

_Rise of the Guardian: Ancient Power, Modern Age _

CHAPTER 4: A Dark Motive

Batman pounded his fist in frustration on the control panel in front of him. The fact someone else was doing his job made things difficult enough, but sitting at a desk and doing a background while the others were putting themselves in danger was unbearable.

"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself about this," J'onn said materializing seemingly out of nowhere.

The Dark Knight glanced at his friend before going back to the screen in front of him.

"There's virtually nothing on Cooper," He said ignoring the comment, " A few articles from overseas papers, but not much else. He defiantly knows how to avoid attracting attention to himself."

J'onn looked over Batman's shoulder at the articles displayed on the screen. Few were in English, and all were more than a few years old.

"So Argon wasn't kidding when he said Ace dropped off the face of the Earth." Batman continued, "There's a gap of roughly a year in between the articles, but aside from that, nothing noteworthy at all."

" You should be resting you know."

"I'm fine."

"You don't look like it."

"I'm sitting in a chair, while everyone else is out on duty because I wasn't as careful as I should have been. That being said, I don't need someone else hovering over me just because I can't lift a car, or run across water." Batman growled at J'onn, "Now I've put most of these in chronological order, but some are still going through a translating program."

"What about this one?" J'onn said pointing to an article on the screen.

"I'm not sure yet, "Batman said looking at the one J'onn had pointed to, "It's in Japanese, so there's not much I can make out right now..."

He punched in something on the keyboard, and started running a translating program on it.

"It shouldn't take the computer long to finish this, but-"

The computer interrupted him in mid-sentence as it finished it's task. Batman and J'onn briefly skimmed the article, but it's headline gave them far more information: Participant killed during semi-finals of 42nd World Martial Arts Tournament.

The two looked at one another in disbelief.

" 'Tournament officials unable to release name or details of the fight which claimed the life of one of the tournament's first time participants?' " J'onn read out loud, "It almost sounds like they're trying to cover something up."

"That's nothing," Batman said with a frown, "Take a look at the date."

"This article..." J'onn said slowly as the realization sunk in, "Was written almost five years ago."

"Argon said Ace disappeared five years ago," Batman said resting his chin on his hands, "So this makes sense. According to this paper, whoever was killed was a first time participant, so he must have been good to have made it to the semi-finals. Guy like that's got to have a chance for the championship..."

"You think Ace killed him because he thought this person was a threat?" J'onn asked

"I think, we just found the reason why Ace Cooper disappeared five years ago."

"J'onn! Batman! Do you copy?" Superman's voice called in over the Watchtower's intercom.

"We're here," J'onn answered, "What's wrong?"

"Diana found Ace, but he figured her out," Superman explained, "We stepped in, but he managed to get away. Diana went after him, but we can't seem to reach her."

"I've traced her com-link to an abandoned industrial park about twenty blocks north-east of you," Batman cut-in, "J'onn and I will meet you there."

"Batman, are you sure you're-"

"I said we'll meet you there." Batman said before cutting off the link and heading to the Javelin bay, with J'onn close behind.

-------------------------------

The others soon caught up to Wonder Woman, and found her, on her knees staring off in the direction Ace had escaped in.

"Diana!" Superman called, "Are you alright?"

"Um, yes, I think I'm ok," She replied shakily, "But I couldn't stop him from getting away, I'm sorry."

The sound of the Javelin's engines caught everybody's attention, as it came in to land. Batman and J'onn stepped off, and joined the others.

"Are you ok?" Batman asked,.

"Yes I'm fine. I'm tougher than that, you know." She said with a half-hearted grin.

"So which way did he go?!" Flash said cracking his knuckles, "I want another shot at this guy. He won't be able to pull that trick again!"

"Calm down Flash," J'onn said stepping forward, "There's something I think you all should know before we decide to go after this man again."

"WHAT?!" Hawkgirl exclaimed after J'onn finished explaining what they had found in the Watchtower.

"J'onn you don't think that Cooper could have really..." Wonder Woman trailed off.

"The paper didn't give much for us to go on," Batman explained, "But it certainly looks that way."

"And he's loose in Gotham," Lantern said letting his ring glow green.

"Now we don't know anything for sure," Superman reasoned, "But we can't let him just walk away. We need to find him as soon as possible. Flash and Lantern, you check the streets and back alleys. Hawkgirl and I will go back to the apartment and see if he goes there."

"I'll take the Javelin and check the bay area," Batman said.

J'onn cast a sideways glance at Wonder Woman.

"Wonder Woman and I will follow the direction Ace left in then, "He piped up.

"Alright then," Superman said, "You all know where you're going, but this time, if you find him, don't engage him. Call for the rest of us and we'll go from there."

Everyone took off in their specified directions, and the Javelin vanished in the night sky. J'onn turned to Wonder Woman now wanting answers.

"There's something you're not telling us, "He accused her.

She looked at J'onn, her eyes acknowledging that what he said was true.

"Before Ace got away, he said something. I'm still not entirely sure...but I think it was in Atlantean., and it was about Argon."

"Do you think he's in danger?"

"Yes. I don't know everything he said, but I did recognize one word. _Hali._ It means monster."

"How can we be sure?"J'onn asked.

Wonder Woman sighed deeply and cast her eyes to the ground.

"I know where there may be some Atlantean text that could help us, but..."

"But?"

"It's on Theymascara. And the penalty that awaits me if I return, is death."

J'onn sighed. Things could never be easy.

"Diana. We need those text."

"I know." She said taking a deep breath, "We'd better hurry though. I'd rather the rest of the League not find out until we know anything for sure."

J'onn nodded, and took to the air, the both of them streaking towards the Amazonian island.

-------------------------------------

A pair of eyes watcher the last of the League vacate the area from the shadows, and let out a breath.

"If I didn't know any better Argon," a voice said, "I'd say, that you're worried about the League."

"Hold your tongue, if you don't want a hole through it Zariah." He snarled back, "The League finding this place too soon would set us back farther than I care to be. We're already lagging as it is."

A young blonde stepped into the faint light of the moon, a cocky grin plastered on his face.

"Aww, come on Master. I meant nothing of it." He said, "If anything, I'd should be asking why we're wasting our time with this fool, and not simply taking what we need."

"You're far too inpatient," Argon sighed, "Never pass up an opportunity to learn a new skill, especially when the money's good. But I will agree with you. The pompous fool _is_ wearing on my nerves, and I can only take so much..."

Zariah chuckled along with Argon.

"But I suppose we'll put up with him for a bit longer. After all, we wouldn't want to leave just when everything is falling nicely into place..."

* * *

Gotc: Yes!!!! I got one more in!!! Well, now I won't be able to post for quite some time, but I do have to thank Moogsthewriter again for giving me the inspiration to crank out this last chapter. So a big thanks!!!!!! Well I g2g, thx for reading! And I will see you all this summer!!! 


	5. Hali

Gotc: HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaack!

Ace: Oh no….

Gotc: Well people, I am glad to say that I have found some time in my days to write again!!!!

Ace: Actually, your parents are out and won't see you writing this.

Gotc: Shut it. Anyway, I'm working on top of a proverbial time bomb, so let's get right to the fic. Squeaky!!!!

Squeaky: Squeak! (JL not owned by Gotc, and hopefully she'll live long enough to finish this story before her parents catch her.)

Gotc: Well put. On to the fic!!!!!!!!!!

__

Rise of the Guardian: Ancient Power, Modern Age

CHAPTER 5: _Hali_

It was impossible to tell where the sky ended and the water began. The darkness seemed to close around Diana with every mile. J'onn had tried talking to her during the first part of the trip, but the closer they got to Theymascara, the harder it was to keep her mind off of the possibility of what may await them. She was banished, and returning held a steep penalty, death.

"_Even so,"_ she reminded herself_, "many lives depend on what we are here to find."_

Still, it was impossible to keep the memory of the event that had led her and J'onn to leave the rest of the League without telling them, and head into a possible suicide mission.

"_Renhi tunhec Argon dacreli se comen nitu hali."_

The words echoed in her head, from her last encounter with Ace. The phrase was Atlantean, though Diana had only been able to pick out one word. _Hali._ Monster. Demon.

The last time she had heard it, she was only a child, out on the white sands of her home, with her mother. The sun had just begun to rise, when she had spotted something drifting on the horizon. She watched as her mother pulled a young woman to shore.

Deep lines creased her face, her eyes were wide and wild with terror, and dipite her apparent age, her hair had been bleached snow white. She was weak with hunger and thirst, but before any more help could arrive, only a single word managed to escape her lips before life left her body. _Hali._

It was only later that, Diana learned that the woman had been one of the fabled Atlanteans, after the remains of her clothing had been examined, and the meaning of her last word. The whole island had been alive with the news for days, until her mother had put an end to the rumors with a proper burial of the woman. No one spoke another word of it after that, as if some great evil would be reawakened by speaking of it.

"Diana!" J'onn yelled for the third time.

"Sorry," she apologized, "I was just thinking."

"I could tell," J'onn said, "But we are here."

Just ahead of them lay the faint glow of torchlights, illuminating the ancient Greek island. Diana sucked in a deep breath to try and steady herself. Even the sight of her home brought emotions to the surface that she would have preferred stayed buried.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" J'onn asked, "I could go alone."

"But you wouldn't know what you'd be looking for," She said shaking off the feeling.

"A small journal, brown, roughly the size of my hand and written in a language lost to mankind for nearly 10,000 years," J'onn said with a smirk

"You've been hanging out with Flash too much," she chuckled, before turning back to the looming island, "No, I'll be ok, but we'll have to hurry. There's always guards on watch for intruders, we only have a few hours to find what we need and get out."

"Then let's not waste any time."

__

Diana tossed another dusty tome on to the ever-growing pile next to her, and ran her hand though her hair in frustration.

"All good things come with time," J'onn said patiently picking up a missed book.

"Unfortunately, time is something we don't have." Diana sighed, "I knew it would be difficult to find, but this?"

"Is there anything else about this journal you can remember?" J'onn asked, waving his hand at the piles of seemingly identical books next to him, "Your description appears to fit most of this library."

The "library" was a massive room hidden beneath one of the temples on the island. Row after row of ancient and crumbling scrolls, tome, and books, stretched out in orderly rows, covered in a thick layer of dust, dimly illuminated by J'onn and Diana's torches.

"No," she said sadly, " I remember my mother always coming down here and coming back with this one journal. She said it was probably the last Atlantean transcript on Earth."

"But you never seen where it was kept?"

"Afraid not. I was never allowed down here."

"Why not?"

"There's more than just history and knowledge in these books," Diana said gesturing towards a darker section of the library, "there are powerful magics, spells and seals here as well. Some are even rumored to have the power to unleash the end of the world. That was why the library was hidden here on Theymascara, to prevent any of that kind of magic from falling into the wrong hands."

J'onn opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by the sound of faint footsteps.

"Someone's coming!" he hissed, shoving one pile of books behind a shelf and blowing out his torch, before melting into the wall.

Diana did the same, and leapt behind a row, hardly daring to breathe as the footsteps drew closer.

A single torchlight lit up the entrance of the room, and the last person on Earth Diana wanted to see. Queen Hipolyeta.

Her sharp eyes scanned the room with scrutiny, examining every detail of the room. With a sigh she placed her torch in a holder on the wall, and turned to face Diana's hiding spot.

"I know you're down here," she said in a commanding tone, "so you may as well come out before I call guards to flush you out."

Diana's heart fell like a stone. Her mother never made hollow threats, and if the guards were called down they would find her and J'onn in a matter of minutes. Slowly, she got to her feet, not daring to meet her mother's eyes, and praying to whatever god was listening that maybe the dim light would conceal her identity.

"I must say Diana, I am surprised to find you here," Hipolyeta said crushing Diana's hopes, "Tell your friend to come out too. I believe we have a lot to talk about."

Ace crept along from shadow to shadow, blending seamlessly into the darkness. His hand went to his pocket, and touched the small bottle inside. A rundown house lay in front of him with one light burning in the window. Ace sprinted across the open space between him and the house, and slid onto the porch. Gently, he took the orange bottle from his pocket and set it in front of the door. As he turned to leave, the old wood porch creaked under his feet.

The front door flung open flooding the porch with light, and a thin, pale woman appeared in the doorway, clutching her worn nightgown.

"Hello?" She called out into the darkness, but no reply came.

She was about to go inside when she noticed the medicine bottle at her feet. Gingerly she picked it up, as if touching it would cause it to shatter. She stared at the bottle in disbelief for a moment, when a small voice behind her brought her to her senses.

"Mommy? Is someone there? I heard a noise."

"No, Anna, it must have been the wind," She said gently, "Go back to bed."

She gazed into the darkness one more time before turning to go back into the house.

"Thank you," She whispered into the night, then shut the door behind her.

Ace peered over the roof, let out a sigh and got to his feet. He landed silently next to the house, kicking up a small swirl of dust about his feet, before heading back towards the city to gather up a few important things from his apartment. He was almost out of sight of the house, when he stopped for a moment and glance over his shoulder at the little house.

"You're welcome," Ace murmured, and disappeared into the shadows.

Gotc: WOOT!!!!!!! Not a bad chap if I do say so myself.

Ace: We'd prefer if you didn't.

Gotc: T-T Nobody loves me……Oh well, life rolls on. Remember to R&R and be expecting the next chappie to be up soon peoples! Let the Summer of Updates begin!!!!!!!!!!!


	6. Atlantis is Dead

Gotc: YAY!!!! I still have fans!!!!!!!!!!! dances

Ace: That's a miracle.

Gotc: glares Oh forget you. continues happy dance I have fans! People like this story! Cha cha cha!

Ace: Oh Lord…. Whale!!!!!!!! Get in here and do the disclaimer so we can move along with this nightmare!

Squeaky: Squeak! (That's not nice.)

Ace: Who ever accused me of that?

Gotc: Oh yeah! Go me! People like this! Indeed!

Squeaky: --' Squeak. (Then again… Gotc does not own JL, Ace is her's…Oh come on you guys know the drill.)

Gotc: Welp, lets move on shall we?

Ace: Please….

Gotc: Enjoy the chap everyone!!!!

__

Rise of the Guardian: Ancient Power, Modern Age

CHAPTER 6: _Atlantis is Dead_

" I do believe you have some explaining to do," Hipolyeta said folding her arms.

"Your highness please-," J'onn started.

"You both are trespassing on this island, and to make things worse, you are intruding in this sacred library," she huffed, "Excuses for these atrocities are few. Why are you here?"

"Someone we have encountered on the mainland," Diana started, "I have reason to believe that he may be Atlantean."

"Why?"

"Something he said before he disappeared. _Hali."_

Hipolyeta sighed and shook her head. She stared off into the distance for a moment, before addressing them.

"We need the journal that you always used to carry," Diana continued, "Maybe we could get closer to him if we could speak his language-"

"No."

"What?"

"That's impossible," she said at last.

"But-"

"Diana, you and I both know full well that Atlantis has been dead for nearly fifteen millenia," Hipolyeta cutting her off, "You must have been hearing things. Not even scholars have been able to learn the language of the Atlanteans."

"Mother, I heard him," Diana insisted, "He was fluent."

"Atlantis is dead." Hipolyeta repeated

"What about that woman?" Diana argued back.

"What woman?" J'onn asked.

"According to records, the continent of Atlantis was swallowed by the sea nearly fifteen thousand years ago," Hipolyeta said not looking away from Diana, "though only five thousand years passed before we realized that there had been survivors. One of those survivors was washed to these shores."

"So then why is it so impossible that this man could also be one of the survivors?" J'onn asked.

"Exactly." Diana agreed.

"Because we found it." Hipolyeta said heavily, "After the woman passed, myself and a small group traced the currents that had brought her to Theymascara. We found a war zone. Buildings lay open like rotting wounds, half the city was engulfed in flame, and the bodies of it's people lay dead in the streets. Even the earth the city had been built on, wasn't spared. Giant gashes were everywhere, through dirt and solid rock alike. Diana, there was nothing left. No one had been spared. Whatever demon had come to that island, came to ensure no one was left alive."

Both fell silent at the thought.

"But surely you knew that this island existed before you found it destroyed?" J'onn reasoned

"Yes, but no Amazon had ever set foot on it before," Hipolyeta sighed, "Though one of them did come to Theymascara."

"What?!" Diana exclaimed, "but they would have been an outsider!!"

"She was looking to establish trade and an alliance between our two islands," Hipolyeta explained, "However, during her stay on Theymascara, she and I became good friends."

From the folds of her tunic, Hipolyeta pulled out a small leather-bound book. She gently stroked the surface.

"She kept this journal during her time here," she went on, "and even translated it to add to the library here. It is the last surviving piece of Atlantean text."

"Mother, please," Diana sighed, "He defeated all of us, but I think he could be an asset to us, if we could just get through to him. As it is now, he wouldn't let us anywhere near him,"

"Then take it with my blessing," Hipolyeta said placing the journal in Diana's hands, "Now, please leave. Should anyone else find you two here, I shall have no choice but to enforce the law of this island."

"Diana! J'onn!" Superman's voice called over the com-link, "Where are you two?!?! We just ran into Ace returning to his apartment. He took something, but when Shayera and I moved in, he attacked us. Hawkgirl cracked a rib, and he managed to get away."

"What happened to the others?" Diana asked.

"Lantern and Flash got caught up in a robbery on the other side of town. Batman's on Ace's tail, but he's gonna need some back up."

"Where was he headed?" J'onn asked.

"Batman last saw him headed to the docks," Superman answered, "Hurry up, we don't want to lose him again."

"You heard him," J'onn said to Diana heading for the exit, with Diana close behind.

"Diana!" Hipolyeta called after them, "Please be careful."

Diana didn't look back, but a smile spread across her lips before taking off towards Gotham.

Gotc: Ok, so this chap was a little slow, but necessary.

Ace: Zzzzzzz…..

Gotc: Restrains self from beating Ace Grrrrrrrr…..Anyway, the story really picks up next chappie-

Ace: wakes up And doesn't stop for the next 6 stories……..Dear God…..

Gotc: Yep, and I'll try to be posting either everyday or every other. So have fun and keep reviewin!!!!


	7. True Nature

Gotc: stares into space ………………………………...

Ace: Great….Who's gonna feed us now?!

Squeaky: Sque-

Ace: Don't answer that. looks at readers This is all your fault, you know that? With all the reviewing and the adding to favorites lists. Now the crazy person is so happy, she can't even function!

Squeaky: Squeak. (It could also have to do with the fact she has had to start writing after those "parent" things go to bed.)

Ace: That's not a good thing either. Eh, it still beats the basement. walks off whistling

Gotc: ………………………………...

Squeaky: Squeak! (And with our authoress still in a semi-conscious comatose state, please remember that no one here owns JL, keep the hands off Ace, and no suing for any of the aforementioned. Enjoy your chapter! Oh, and thoughts and other languages will be in italics!!!)

__

Rise of the Guardian: Ancient Power, Modern Age

CHAPTER 7: _True Nature_

Ace nearly collapsed between a pair of forgotten shipping crates. His left arm hung limply at his side, and throbbed painfully every time he moved.

"_Ugh. I should have known they would have been watching Lena's place for me…"_

His last encounter with the League had proved far worse than ones before. He hadn't known there had been two of them following him, until he had already gotten inside the apartment building. The hawk had dislocated his arm, as he tried to get away. He hadn't meant to throw her quite so hard into the wall, but it distracted her partner long enough to escape.

Ace grabbed his arm with his good hand, and wrenched his shoulder back into place with a pop. He groaned as his whole arm flared in pain then dulled to a nagging ache. Slowly, he leaned back against one of the steel containers, and glanced at the ground next to him. Laying by his side was a black sheath, inlaid with intricate gold runes and patterns. The hilt held a pale blue gem in its pommel, that seemed to glow in the moonlight. It was the whole reason ace had risked going back to the apartment. The blade was important to him. Without it, he felt like he was missing a piece of himself was missing.

He felt his eyelids get heavier and heavier the longer he sat. The shipyards wasn't exactly his first choice for a night's sleep, but he'd slept in worse before. He was fairly well hidden between the two massive containers, and it was still a few hours before dawn. Before he knew it, Ace was already sound asleep.

The sound of voices brought Ace back around.

"Are you sure this is where Batman said he was heading?"

"Positive, I can sense him nearby."

__

Ace grabbed his sword and strapped on to his back, before darting from his hiding place.

_"Idiot! How could you have let them get so close?! And for the second time in one night!" _He swore to himself.

He moved from one crate to another circling where he thought he heard the voices. At last he saw the familiar face of Wonder Woman, scanning the darkness for any sign of him, but the person the other voice belonged to was no were in sight.

A tingle went down Ace's spine, and he whipped around to see J'onn staring him down.

"So, Ace Cooper?" He said his face showing no emotion, "I finally get to meet you."

Ace reacted instantly, throwing a punch at the Martian. But instead of connecting with him, his fist passed right through the Manhunter.

J'onn watched the Ace's reaction as his fist met with his intangible body. Surprise was the first emotion to surface in his eyes, but it didn't stay for long. He could see a new plan already forming in Ace's eyes, and a feeling like electricity spread though J'onn's body.

"Ace! Stop! We just came to talk!" Wonder Woman called, seeing the confrontation.

Almost immediately, the feeling went away as Ace brought his hands back to his sides.

"Really? Wow, that's a first." Ace scoffed, "Since the last, what, three times I've crossed paths with you or your friends, the only talking was with your fists. So give me one good reason why I should believe that this isn't some kind of set-up now?"

"_Gheni tudo marchen danhe." You'll just have to trust me._

Ace's face contorted in utter disbelief. (A/n: I'm not going to do a whole language, so when they're speaking in Atlantean, it'll be in italics. Carry on!)

"_How?_" He asked in a horse whisper.

"_Does it matter?"_

"It might if you thought that you were the last person on Earth that knew such a language existed, much less could speak it." Ace growled 

Neither of them moved for several minutes before Wonder Woman pulled out the journal. 

"This journal was kept by a friend of my mother's," she explained, "She wrote it in Atlantean, and translated it."

"You picked up such a difficult language awfully fast," Ace said, not lowering his guard.

"It's a gift," Wonder Woman said.

"Let me see that journal," Ace said after a moment.

"Why should I?" She said suspiciously.

"Please."

Wonder Woman sighed, but handed over the journal. J'onn watched carefully as Ace approached her and took it. He opened the worn leather binding, and brushed his hand over the yellowed pages. His eyes scanned the fading, intricate runes that danced across each page.

Wonder woman and J'onn watched as Ace's steady hand began to shake. He swallowed hard the further he read.

"Lë wete…" He said numbly.

"Did you know her?" J'onn asked.

"Know her?" Ace scoffed cynically, "She….she was my mother."

The two exchanged surprised looks, and Ace slumped against a crate behind him.

Batman crept behind the rows of crates searching for any sign of Ace, when he heard voices. Hiding amongst the shadows, he crawled closer and saw Ace, J'onn and Wonder Woman all together. Ace seemed different though, defeated almost. He was so focused on the scene in front of him, that he never noticed the pile of forgotten tools strewn across his path.

"She wasn't my real mother," Ace went on, "But….she took me in, and took care of me."

Ace flipped through a few more pages, before he closed the journal. He stared at it for a few more seconds, then looked back up at Wonder Woman and J'onn.

"Where did you get this?" He asked quietly, with no trace of the malice that had been in his voice before.

But before they could answer, a clink of metal caught Ace's attention. He was on his feet in an instant, and reached for the sword on his back. A batarang slammed into his hand, and before he could react, Batman's foot connected with his jaw. Ace never noticed the small vial work its way out of his pocket.

"I should have known, there'd be more of you waiting in the wings." Ace growled, picking himself up off of the ground.

"Batman stop!" Wonder Woman pleaded, "Ace, wait-"

"No," He snarled, "I should never have trusted you in the first place!"

This time Ace went on the offensive, and slammed hard into Batman, throwing him into one of the crates. Out of the corner of his eye, he seen J'onn's leg come at his head, and dropped to the ground. Ace spun around on his heels, and launched himself at J'onn. This time he connected with a solid punch, knocking the wind out of him. He turned to see Batman pulling several spheres from his belt, and throw them at Ace.

They exploded as they hit his chest, slamming him into the ground. But the explosion resounded in the enclosed area, sent the others flying into crates as well.

Wonder Woman winced as she connected with the steel crate. Smoke stung her eyes, and the dust in the air made it hard to breathe. A pain in her hand suddenly flared to life through all the chaos, and seemed to spread rapidly up the rest of her arm. She glanced at her hand and found a piece of broken glass sticking out of her hand. Blood seeped from the wound, but there was a fine black powder mixed in with it. She tried to look at it closer, but her arm wouldn't listen. Suddenly, the whole world began to spin. Her arm spasmed painfully, and spread to the rest of her body. The groans of the others coming to pounded against her eardrums, she could feel her blood turn to liquid fire in her veins. Even the air around her turned to ice in her lungs. She fell to the ground, convulsing as the world turned to black around her.

Ace staggered to his feet using the crate for support. The explosion still rang in his ears, pounding against his head.

"You idiot!" He yelled into the settling dust, "Didn't they ever teach you not to set off explosives in an enclosed space?! You want to kill your friends too?!"

He scanned the area and found Batman and J'onn coming to, but Wonder Woman wasn't moving. He took a few more steps, and saw she was convulsing on the ground.

"Oh no…"

He ripped open his jacket and checked his pockets frantically for the vial of Shade that was no longer there. His mind suddenly went into over drive as he raced past the other two and to Wonder Woman's side. She shook violently as he rolled her over on to her back. Her eyes were rolled back into her head and a sheen of sweat covered her features. She had stopped breathing, so Ace jabbed two fingers into the nape of her neck. Wonder Woman drew in a strangled gasp, and continued to breathe in labored pants.

Ace swore under his breath, and looked back at the other two heroes.

"Batboy! E.T! Get over here now!" Ace barked.

Batman rubbed his head, trying to get the world into focus, when something rushed past him. He tried to figure out what it was, but every time he tried to focus the world threatened to come out from under his feet. Suddenly, Ace's voice ripped through the haze. At last everything came into focus, and he saw Ace kneeling over Wonder Woman.

"What did you do to her?!" Batman roared, ready to make Ace pay for whatever he had done.

"Shut up and lower your voice, the beating of her heart feels like someone stabbing her in the chest. If you're going to yell, you may as well light some grenades in her ears!" Ace growled, "And I didn't do a thing to her! The vial of Shade in my pocket came out when you sucker-punched me, and your little pyrotechnics show threw her into it!"

"What's happening to her?" J'onn asked joining them.

"A sensory overload, Shade is designed to heighten the senses. But right now they're too strong for her body to handle, " Ace said, "This is what's been killing people, and this is how they've been dying."

"What do we do?" Batman asked

"I can make an antidote, but in the state she's in, it won't be ready in time." Ace said running a hand through his hair in frustration, "We need to take her somewhere where we can cut her off from her own senses."

"How long does she have?" J'onn asked

"Shade can kill in under twelve minutes," Ace said, "But she's stronger than most people, so it could be longer. Truth is I have no way of knowing until it's too late."

"Can't you just make the antidote here?" Batman said

"No, I have the ingredients, but I need a powerful heat source, and a syringe to inject it directly into her bloodstream."

"Fine," Batman said looking at Wonder Woman writhe in pain, "help us get her into the Javelin. I know where we can go."

Gotc: blinks Wow….I just finished what I believe to be the longest chapter in this story so far in a near comatose state!!!!

Ace: How is that different from usual?

Gotc: The chapter was longer. Hope the readers out there liked it, and really sorry for the long wait! Jinxed myself by setting deadlines….. Oh well, Thx for reading!


	8. Brush With Death

Gotc: Hi everybody!!!!!!!!!! Sorry for the delays but we had some unexpected company show up.

Ace: Your uncle's kinda weird….

Gotc: Don't remind me. But I also got a job at the local pet clinic! YAY FOR EMPLOYMENT!!!!!!!!

Ace: glares at Squeaky Like we need more pets….

Gotc: Anyway…I'll try to keep updating regularly, writing is my life after all, so this doesn't mean that the stories are going to stop when I start work.

Ace: Crap.

Gotc: So thanks for stickin' with me, and more thanks to Moogsthewriter for pointing out my mistake in the last chap, and I'll throw another your way! Squeaky!!

Squeaky: Squeak! (Gotc doesn't own JL, Ace is hers, as is her awesome job at the clinic. Enjoy!)

__

Rise of the Guardian: Ancient Power, Modern Age

CHAPTER 8: Brush With Death

The heavy steel doors of Wayne Enterprises main laboratory flung open with a resounding clang. Superman entered the massive three story lab, followed by the other three Leaguers.

"Batman, what's this all about?" He asked as soon as he saw Batman, "You weren't exactly clear in your transmission. I got that something was wrong with Diana but-"

Superman stopped dead as Ace turned around from a nearby lab table and leveled a glare at the man of steel.

"Shut up will you?" Ace growled, "I'm trying to work."

"What's he doing here?" Lantern demanded.

"Saving your friend down there," Ace said motioning over the banister.

The group peered over to see Diana suspended in a tank in the middle of the arena below. J'onn was down there as well monitoring the many devices that were keeping track of her rapidly deteriorating condition.

"What did you do to her?" Flash yelled getting in Ace's face

"I didn't do a thing!" He yelled back, "And I suggest you show me a little more respect since I'm the one who's trying to save her! Now get your red pajamas out of my way so I can do my job."

Flash backed down but didn't take his eyes off Ace. Ace returned the glare, before turning back to the table where a mired of bowls simmered over open flames. Ace reached for a fleshy stalk laying in front of him, and reached around for the sword on his back. The league behind him immediately tensed up, and Ace cast an irritated glance over his shoulder.

"Oh calm down will you?" He said pulling the blade, and rapidly scored the stalk against it until it began to ooze.

He squeezed the gel-like substance into the main bowl on the burner until it turned a pale green color.

"See?" He said putting the sword away.

"I still don't trust you," Superman said folding his arms.

"I never asked you to, nor do I really care one way or another," Ace said adding a fine white powder to the brew, "I do fine on my own, and if you would have listened to me and stopped following me in the first place, your friend wouldn't be in the mess she is right now."

"You still haven't told us what's wrong with her," Flash pointed out.

"Right now, she has a large amount of Shade in her bloodstream, "Ace explained not looking up from what he was doing, "I'm sure you all know by now what Shade does. For the drug to work properly, Shade is supposed to be mixed with boiling water, and the steam inhaled. By mixing it with the hot water, it does two things. One: it dilutes the powder, and the potency of the drug to a level where the body isn't overloaded. Two: because of all the blood vessels in the lungs, it is distributed to the body quickly and evenly."

Ace paused to stir one of the bowls before continuing on.

"What happened to Diana, was a perfect example of Murphy's Law. The Shade entered her bloodstream without being diluted, and at a single point. So it's affecting her body in different ways because some areas have had a greater exposure to it. And because it hasn't been diluted, simply existing puts her in a world of hell. The faintest light burns, the smallest whisper pounds against her ears. Everything her skin touches induces a pain like no other. Even the beating of her own heart is like being stabbed over and over again," Ace stopped and met the eyes of the League, "That's what's happening to her."

"Is she gonna be ok?" Flash asked

"I hope," Ace said, "She's lucky to have lasted even this long. Most don't survive long enough to receive the antidote-"

Just then, the sensors below erupted into a panicked frenzy.

"Ace!" J'onn yelled, " She needs the antidote now!"

"No kidding! But it's not ready yet!" Ace yelled in frustration.

"She may not last long enough for it to be ready!" Batman said taking off down the stairs to the lower level to help J'onn.

"What's the problem?" Lantern said in the commotion

"Her whole body's shutting down!" Ace said turning up the heat under the bowl, "And the antidote isn't ready yet! I can't get it hot enough!"

"Let me," Superman said, "I should be able to get it hot enough-"

"No!" Ace stopped him, "Your powers come from the sun's radiation you absorb. If you try it, you could ruin the whole batch."

"Then what do we do?!"

Ace glanced around the room frantically looking for anything he could use to boost the flame underneath the antidote. His eyes finally landed on a bottle across the room.

"Speedy!" He yelled at Flash, "I need that bottle now!"

Flash was there in the blink of an eye, and picked it up.

"Rubbing alcohol? Isn't this a bad time to thinking about your aches and pains?"

"NOW!!!"

Flash chucked it to Ace, who ripped off the cap and filled his mouth with it. When the bottle was empty he turned to the flame under the bowl, and spit. The fire roared to life as it met the alcohol. The antidote in the bowl bubbled and frothed as the heat worked its way through it. Ace grabbed a syringe on the table and filled it with the boiling liquid.

As soon as it was full, he turned to the banister and took a flying leap over it, landing squarely on the tank holding Diana below. He winced as his injured arm strained to hold on to the tank, but ripped off the top with his good arm.

"Sorry about this," he said to Diana before sticking the needle into her neck.

A muffled scream came through her regulator, before her entire body fell limp. A single piercing tone shrieked through the room as her heart failed.

"What did you do!?! Batman cried in horror.

Ace didn't reply, and pulled the empty needle out and put two fingers to the vein in her neck, feeling for a pulse. The rest of the world faded out, as he waited for any kind of response from Diana.

"Come on, come on, come on," He murmured, praying that he hadn't been too late.

Batman watched helplessly as seconds crawled by, and the heart monitor kept emitting its wailing tone. Diana wasn't moving, and every machine connected to her kept displaying the horrible outcome he didn't want to face.

Suddenly, the whole room seemed to come alive with a barely tangible energy that sent a shiver through his body. Time seemed to stand still for a moment, until the monitor's tone was interrupted by a single beep. At first he though he imagined it, when another came, followed by a steadily increasing stream. His whole body suddenly felt weak with relief, and completely drained.

Ace sighed and pulled his arm out of the tank. He leapt to the ground, and sat down with his back against the tank. The League gathered around him, and he looked up at them wearily.

"What now?" he groaned.

"You saved Diana," Superman said, "But I think you still have a lot to explain."

Gotc: Ok, I've got some stuff to do, so no long thing here after the chap. But just remember to R&R and the next chap should be up in the next couple of days!! THX!!


	9. Digging Up the Past

Gotc: HIIIIIIIIIIIIIII everybody!!!!!!!!!!!! So I'm leavin' soon to head off to my dad's but I wanted to put up another chap before I left.

Ace: She doesn't want to pack. Or do laundry.

Gotc: Who does? Anyway, I'd like to thank all of you who reviewed. I really do appreciate the feedback. You guys are the ones reading this, so it's nice to hear what you have to say, even if it is criticism. But, for those of you who think Batman was a bit out of character in the last few chaps, well…..hopefully it'll make some sense soon.

Ace: You don't do anything that makes sense….

Gotc: Uh huh. And I'm sure that loading the microwave with tinfoil was your shining moment of genius too.

Ace: Well you wouldn't buy fireworks for the fourth of July….

Gotc: sigh Yes, and now I need to completely remodel the kitchen….. But enough of that. Squeaky!!!!!!!!!!

Squeaky: pops head out of suitcase Squeak?

Gotc: AWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU'RE SOOOOOO CUUUUUUUUTE!!!!!!!

Ace: Humph.

Squeaky: Squeak. (You're just jealous. JL not owned here. Look elsewhere.)

Gotc: Yep. Enjoy the chapter!! Oh, and I'm gonna try to make the action scenes not too confusing for ya too!

_Rise of the Guardian: Ancient Power, Modern Age_

CHAPTER 9: Digging Up the Past

Ace checked Diana's monitors one last time before he faced the League. 

"I'm guessing you already have most of the story figured out," Ace said.

"We know you were the fifteen time Martial Arts Champion," Batman said, "until you disappeared five years ago, after an incident that left one participant dead."

Ace's whole body visibly tensed as Batman continued.

"And that you're looking for Argon. What we don't know is why, or how you both seem to know of each other."

Ace stared off into space for a moment, lost in the past. He drew in a deep breath before he began.

"Yes, I was the Champion. And Argon and I do know each other. We were both trained in the way of martial arts by the same man," He said heavily, " We were good friends for a very long time."

"Why not now?" Superman asked.

"Don't act oblivious," Ace said reaching into his jacket and producing a faded newspaper clipping, "You've seen this before."

"_That's the same article J'onn and I found_," Batman thought.

"Argon and I haven't been friends," Ace said with a mix of anger and sorrow in his voice, "since the day an 18 year-old kid didn't make it out of the semi-final round of that tournament alive."

Before anyone could think of a reaction, the groggy rush of air bubbles fighting their way to the surface of the suspension tank caught their attention.

"Well, looks like someone is finally coming around," Ace said quickly changing the subject, and began to drain the thick fluid from the chamber.

Diana's legs couldn't hold up under her weight, and she collapsed in to the waiting arms of her friends.

"What happened?" She asked groggily

"You cut your hand, and a large amount of Shade managed to get into you system and it nearly killed you," Ace said checking her pulse, "I gave you an antidote."

"You really gave us a scare," Superman said with a relived sigh as she finally managed to stand on her own, "How are you feeling?"

"Like Cerberus's chew toy," She groaned holding her head.

"Glad you're feeling better," Ace remarked, "You're probably going to be a little queasy for the next few minutes, until you get your bearings back from that tank."

"Is that all?" She asked

"It only takes blood thirty seconds to circulate through the body," Ace said, "So it won't take long for the antidote to neutralize the rest of the Shade in your body."

"Good," she said, "The sooner the better."

Ace chuckled for a moment, then his brow furrowed in deep concentration.

"What's wrong?" Batman asked noticing the sudden change.

"There's someone coming," He said quickly, going to Diana and helping her to walk, "We have to go. Now."

"What?!" Flash exclaimed, "How do you know?"

"He's right," J'onn said, a faint glow from his eyes quickly fading.

"Is there any other way out of here?" Superman asked Batman

"No, the door on the third stage is the only way in or out," He said rushing to help Ace.

"Forget it!" Ace said, "We're not going to make it out of here in time. Everyone hide!"

-------------------------------------------

A man carefully crept into the lab, his eyes scanning every dark corner. His footsteps made no noise as he explored each and every story with painstaking detail. At last he seemed satisfied that there was no one else in the lab but himself. He pulled back his sleeve, exposing a communicator strapped to his wrist.

"They're not here," he said in a low voice, "they must have found another way out."

"No. They're still there. There's no way they would have been able to make it out of this room without you noticing. They're still there, find them."

Suddenly, Ace exploded from the shadows. The man ducked at the last second as Ace's fist shot towards his head. His leg shot out and knocked Ace's out from under him.

But Ace planted his hand, before he hit the ground and swung himself around into the assailant. The man crashed hard into the wall, as Ace started to charge him again. This time, he pulled a long, thin, blade from a hidden sheath on his thigh. He slashed at Ace the second he was in range, and struck his target, though not in the way he had intended. Ace had caught the blade in his hand, blood trickling down his arm from where the edge had cut into his hand.

"Nice try." He growled, wrenching the knife from the man.

"You took the words right out of my mouth," The man replied before pulling a needle from his pocket, and injecting himself.

Ace swore to himself as the man almost immediately passed out. He left him slumped against the wall, as he rejoined the others coming out of hiding.

"Well, I certainly see why you were the Martial Arts Champion for fifteen years," Hawkgirl remarked.

"What? I didn't convince you the last time I wiped the floor with you?" Ace said starting to tear a piece of his shirt for his hand.

"Here, use this," Batman said tossing him a small bottle from his belt.

Ace rubbed the contents into his hand, and the bleeding stopped, and pain subsided.

"Thanks," he said handing it back.

"So what now?" Green lantern asked.

"That man was sent by Argon," Ace said heading for the door, "He knows where we are. So I intend to find out where he's hiding."

"And how are you going to do that?" Superman asked

"Gotham P.D. sent two shade dealers to Arkham," Batman said picking up on Ace's plan.

"I thought you said they were unresponsive," Diana said

"They are," Ace said, "But Argon doesn't like to leave loose ends."

------------------------------------------

Argon sat back in his chair and shut off his side of the communicator. Zariah swiveled in his seat to face Argon.

"So they're going to Arkham. What should we do now? If he finds us-"

"Then we'll just have to make our move before he moves on us. Won't we?" Argon said with a devilish chuckle.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Gotc: Ok, sorry peoples. I didn't mean for it to be so long for my update. I stared my job and have been working close to 40 hours a week. But I really will try to be better about updating! Well time to go back to work! R&R!!!!!!!!!!!!


	10. Stakeout

Gotc: Omg……so tired……

Ace: She's out walking 30 dogs in 103 degree weather right now for her job.

Gotc: So much dog sh-

Ace: Ratings!

Gotc: Oh fine! Sorry it's been so long folks, I've been working close to 40hrs for two weeks now and have had very little time for writing.

Ace: So shut up and get on with it then.

Gotc: Right. Squeaky!!!!

Squeaky: Squeak……(It's too hot……..)

Gotc: Ok, refer to the other chaps for the annoying disclaimer. Now for the fic!

------------------------------------------------------------------

_: Ancient Power, Modern Age_

CHAPTER 10: Stakeout

"Why are we doing this again?!?!?" Flash whined.

"Because you guys insisted on coming along," Ace growled irritably as the group approached the asylum.

"So what's the plan?" Lantern asked.

"Flash is going to hide and wait here," Ace said shortly.

"I like this plan already," Lantern smirked.

"Hey!"

"Focus will you?" Ace snapped, "You'll stay here because this is the only way in or out of Arkham. Hawkgirl and Superman, I need both of you to fly as high as you can out of sight to scan the building in case there's someone we miss. J'onn, you'll need to take the place of one of the guards, and Lantern and Wonder Woman will back you up."

"And me?" Batman asked already guessing the answer.

"You and I are going inside to wait," Ace said starting up the path, " This is your territory, and you know the layout of the building better than I do."

Ace turned around to face the League. Nobody had moved at all.

"Well," he said, irritation growing in his voice, "are you just going to stand there? Your multi-colored pajamas are pretty easy to spot."

"We don't take well to being ordered around like a bunch of kids," Hawkgirl said crossing her arms in defiance.

"Too bad." Ace said sharply, "You wanted to get yourselves into this, so you'd better buckle down and go along for the ride. You're in my world now, and if you want to come out with something more than a headstone and an elementary school named after you, then you'll stop whining and do as I say. Got it?"

No one said anything.

"Good," Ace said taking the silence as a yes, "Now let's go before the sun comes up."

Batman scowled, but headed off with Ace, while Flash ran off to find a hiding place and Superman and Hawkgirl soared off out of sight.

"Well, let's go," Lantern said with a sigh, "It's going to be a looong day…."

Wonder Woman shrugged, and followed him, but stopped as she noticed J'onn wasn't moving. He was staring off into space, his orange eyes faintly glowing in the growing light.

"What's wrong J'onn?" She asked.

"Something's here," He said quietly.

"What?!" Lantern said suddenly alert, "Is it our hit man?"

"No…" J'onn said, his brow furrowing, "It's…not human."

Wonder Woman and Green Lantern exchanged quizzical looks.

"Then what is it?"

"I don't know," J'onn said, snapping out of his trance-like state and morphing into a brown suited guard, before beginning to head up to the asylum.

"Wait! Shouldn't we tell the rest of the League?" Lantern suggested

"No," J'onn said casually, "It's not here for any real reason. It's just… waiting."

"For what?" Lantern asked, without a response from J'onn.

"Well," Wonder Woman sighed, "I suppose we'll find out eventually."

------------------------------------------------

Hour after hour passed with hardly and event to tell them apart. Batman and Ace lay silently in wait high in the rafters of the maximum security ward of the asylum. Every few minutes or so, Bat man would glance over at Ace staring down at the cell that held their bait. He hadn't moved form that position since they'd arrived early that morning. There were times he wasn't even sure Ace was really there, and not just a figment of his imagination. By the time the clock struck midnight, Batman couldn't stand it.

Carefully, he stood up and stretched his aching legs and tried to get the blood flowing to some of the more cramped places.

"I'm impressed," Ace said not taking his eyes off of the two men below, "I didn't think that you would last quite that long."

"What do you mean?" Batman asked settling into a more comfortable position.

"I mean you didn't even so much as stir the dust up here until just now," Ace said, " I wasn't sure that you were even there with that outfit of yours."

"I was just thinking the same thing," Batman said, "So why Ace?"

"Excuse me?"

"J'onn said you're an Atlantean," Bataman said, "So I'm assuming that Ace isn't your real name."

"Well 'Batman' isn't yours, is it Bruce?" Ace said slyly, "And how is it that a man like you falls in love with an Amazonian princess?"

"How did you-"

"What? Know your name, or about Diana? Because I don't exactly hear you denying either."

Batman didn't know what to say.

"It's the way you act when you're around her. Like when she fell on that vial of Shade," Ace said, "You didn't even check to see if your Martian friend was alright. As for you? I never forget someone once I've met them."

"We've met?" Batman asked.

"Not that you can remember I'm sure," Ace shrugged, "A billionaire has too many thing to do than to remember every person he meets."

"That doesn't answer my question about you though," Batman pointed out, "Since you didn't deny that Ace wasn't your real name either."

"Out side of an Atlantean, there are a grand total of three people that know my name. One's stranded on a desert island the middle of the pacific, one is a traitor, and the other is dead, "Ace said with malice in his voice, "Sound like a club you'd like to join?"

"So what was it the that made Argon a traitor?"

Now it was Ace's turn to be silent. Moments of strained silence passed between them.

"What Argon did.." Ace seethed, "I will never forgive."

"Batman!" Flash's voice came in over the com-link, "There's someone heading up the road!"

"Superman, Hawkgirl, can you see him?" Batman said into the link.

"Yes," came the response, "He's in black, and moving fast. It's our guy alright."

"Shh…" Ace whispered, crouching further into the shadows.

The echo of grating metal made every muscle in Batman's body tense with anxiety. Seconds seemed like hours, before faint footsteps reached his ears. A masked figure came creeping into sight. He came up to the cell that held the former dealers and stopped before reaching into his pocket for something.

Ace never gave him the chance. He dropped down from the rafters right on top of him. The man sprawled on the floor with a painful "umph", but still managed to pull a syringe from his pocket.

"Oh no you don't," Ace said knocking it out of his hand, "One of your buddies already pulled that on us."

Batman quickly bound the man's hands and feet, then pulled mask off.

"Jonathan?" Ace said incredulously, "How'd you get demoted from dealer to hit man?"

"I screwed up a shipment," The ex-dealer snarled, "You know how it works Cooper."

"You know each other?" Batman asked.

"He's the one I bought the Shade off of." Ace replied.

"I'm surprised to see you here Cooper. Alive at least," Jonathan said, "Last I heard, Argon had sent out a hit on you and you little super pals."

"Yeah well why don't you just tell me where he's hiding so I can correct him on his mistake?" Ace said.

"Yeah right," Jonathan scoffed, "I'm no idiot Cooper. I'd take you over Argon any day."

"That so?"

Before Batman could react, Ace had grabbed the back of Jonathan's shirt and had hauled him off down the hall and out of sight.

"Guys, you need to get in here now," Batman called over the com-link before heading after Ace, "I think we're about to have a problem."

Batman followed Jonathan's cries of protest through Arkham's wards, until he reached a maintenance entrance opening up on to the cliff the asylum had been built on. Batman stopped in his tracks as he watched Ace swing a screaming Jonathan out over the edge.

"Now," Ace called over the roar of the waves below, "Lets try this again. Where's your boss?!"

"You're insane!" Jonathan screamed, "You would never-"

Ace relaxed his hold on Jonathan enough to let him slip a few inches.

"Argon and I are a lot alike you know," Ace said, "Neither one of us cares what happens to you."

Ace let go a little more and Jonathan saw just how serious he was.

"1113 Wharf avenue!!" He screamed suddenly, "The old factory on the other side of town! Please, don't drop me!"

Ace glared at Jonathan for a moment, searching his face for any kind of deception. Batman looked on as horror swept across Ace's face. The rest of the League met up with them just as Ace made the connection.

"1113 Warf avenue…, My old apartment was only ten blocks from there…"He murmured as if saying it would make it any less true, "I haven't been following Argon….He's been following me…"

Ace threw a sniveling Jonathan at the League, and slowly backed away from the cliff's edge.

"Warf avenue is on the other side of the bay," Batman said pulling up his mental map of the city, "If we hurry, we can get to the Javelin in two minutes and be at the factory in under 7."

"I don't care about the factory," Ace said, panic growing in his voice.

"Anna…" Wonder Woman said to herself as Ace's words sunk in. She and her mom lived in the same part of town.

"Well then we still need to get to the Javelin," Batman insisted, "if we're going to go anywhere. You can't walk on water."

"Who said anything about walking?" Ace said turning his head towards the League.

"Ace, wait-"

"Fastest way between two points is a straight line."

Ace gave them no time to react, before running and taking and arching dive off of the edge of the cliff.

"Ace!!"

Suddenly an ear-splitting roar shook the night air around them as a wall of ebony scales boiled up from the sea below. Leathery wings beat the air with a massive downdraft, forcing the League against the side of the asylum as it disappeared into the night.

Disbelief accompanied the silence that followed the stunned question.

"Was that…a dragon?"

-------------------------------------------------

Gotc: Thank god it's done. Ok long chap for you guys, hope it's enough to tide you over til my next post! Later!! Remember to R&R!!


	11. Panic

Gotc: STUPID CALCULUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I HATE MATH!!!!!!!!!!!

Ace: Wow, four hours on one problem. That has got to be a new record.

Gotc: Shut up before I hit you in the head with this book.

Ace: No thanks that thing weighs like 80 pounds.

Gotc: sigh Sorry folks, between school, work, and homework I have had exactly zero time to post. The good news, this fic has actually been handwritten in its entirety!!! Aaaaaannd, ROTG 2 has been started!!!

Ace: weeeeee…..

Gotc: Isn't there something you could be doing right now?

Ace: Not while you're still in the house.

Gotc: Must. Not. Think….

Ace: How would that be a challenge again?

Gotc: Ok, we need to move on before I do something bad to you…Squeaky!!!

Squeaky: Squeak! (They still need to read this?)

Gotc: Fine…. On with the fic! Enjoy everyone!! Oh, by the way, I'm going to divide major shifts in point's of view with a line of dashes! Just wanted to give you the heads up!

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_Rise of the Guardian: Ancient Power, Modern Age_

CHAPTER 11: Panic

The inky water raced beneath the League as they sped after Ace. Superman was out in front, Flash below, churning up water as he skimmed across it, and Batman brought up the rear in the Javelin. Even Superman kept losing Ace, as he pulled farther and farther ahead of them.

"He's heading straight for downtown Gotham," Batman reported over the intercom.

"Well there's not much we can do about it from back here!" Flash shouted back, "That dragon's got to be pushing Mach 1!"

"That can't be right!" Hawkgirl said, "Even the Javelin can only do Mach 3!"

"Forget about how fast he's going!" Lantern snapped, "If he's noticed riding that…thing in downtown Gotham, there's going to be chaos!"

"What about Ace?" J'onn pointed out, "What if this is all just a trap? We're all blindly following Ace into who-knows-what."

"Then we need to stop him before he gets that far," Superman said putting on a new burst of speed.

Batman quickly followed suit, and the Javelin's engines roared to life, pushing past the rest of the League to catch up with Superman. The two caught up with Ace, just as he hit the city limits. Batman glanced at his speed as he pulled level with Ace. Flash was right, Mach 1. The dragon next to him was powering through the air with its massive wings open to the fullest. Ace was nearly glued to its back, his feet wedged between the dragon's spikes, and his hands clamped onto its long, ebony neck. The two moved together in such fluid motion, Batman had a hard time telling where beast ended and man began.

A rapidly approaching skyscraper, divided them as Batman swerved off to the right, Ace to the left, with Superman hot on his tail.

-------------------

Everything rushed by in a blur. Air, buildings, and thoughts alike. Ace had one place to get to, and he had to get there before Argon. He was suddenly aware of the Javelin rushing up next to him, then swerving off as a building came up between them. On his other side, a steak of red and blue pulled past him.

"Out of my way Superman!" Ace snarled

"Ace think about this!" The Man of Steel pleaded, "You could be headed for a trap!"

"I will not let another innocent person be hurt because of me!" He yelled back

"I can't let you do this Ace," Superman said pulling ahead and stopping directly in Ace's path.

"Neither can I," Ace said as the dragon opened its jaws and unleashed a column of fiery energy at Superman.

The attack hit it's mark with full force, dropping Superman from the sky and onto a rooftop below as he barreled on past. They could throw whatever they liked at him, Ace wasn't going to stop.

Suddenly, the Javelin pulled out ahead of him and spun a 180 in the air before heading towards Ace in a suicidal game of chicken. Ace could see Batman in the cockpit, coming at him full throttle. The buildings on either side were too close for either of them to swerve off, and if they dove, there would be no time to pull up before they hit the ground. And neither of them were about to slow down. Ace leaned further forward, urging the dragon on faster and faster, as the Javelin bore down on them.

At the last second, Ace shoved off of the dragon's back as hard as he could, vaulting over the Javelin. The next instant, he landed on the dragon's back, and disappeared in the maze of brick and concrete.

----------------

Batman swore to himself and pulled up on his speed, and brought the Javelin higher to see if he could spot Ace. The South District was beginning just below him, and the skyscrapers of the city had come to an end.

_"There's no place left for him to hide now. So where did he-"_

A ball of fire lit up the evening sky below him, billowing higher and higher, then topping off in a cloud of black smoke, visible even against the night.

"Batman!" Superman's voice came in over the com-link "Do you see that!?"

"Yes," He replied half stunned, "Where are the others?"

"Here with me, we're coming up on you now," Superman said, "You don't think Ace was caught in that do you?"

"No, but he knew it was going to happen."

-----------------------------------

Gotc: Ok, sorta short.

Ace: 'Sorta'?

Gotc: Anyway, I'll try and post more next week, I don't have a whole lot going on, but we're getting close to my favorite scene in this fic!!! Later!!


	12. Plan of Attack

Gotc: Woo!!! Three more people have added this to their fav list!!!!!

Ace: Don't you people have something else better to do? Like mind-numbing television, or playing in traffic?

Gotc: Grrr….Speaking of which…Guess who dropped by for a visit today?

Ace: 0.o Oh please no. I'll be good. I'll live in the closet and never eat the last of your waffles again.

Gotc: SO IT WAS YOU!!!!!!

Ace: oops…

door bell rings

Gotc: evil grin

Ace: Please, don't open that door! I'll do you math homework for the rest of the year!!!

Gotc: Hmmmm…..tempting, but no. opens door Viewers, meet another member of my disclaimer crew! Lara Chubb of Deephollow!

Lara Chubb of Deephollow: ACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ace: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!runs away

Gotc: Did I mention she has a thing for Ace? A.K.A: stuffs him into a basement full of her other pretty men she's kidnapped from other tv shows/anime/manga.

Lara: pulls out net GET BACK HERE!!!!

Gotc: Well, my work here is done. Take it away Squeaky!

Squeaky: Squeak! (Ha ha. Five bucks on the crazy hobbit lady. O.0)

Gotc: And on with the fic! Enjoy!

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_Rise of the Guardian: Ancient Power, Modern Age_

CHAPTER 12: Plan of Attack

The explosion still lit the sky by the time the League arrived. The little house was completely engulfed in flames, with part of the roof blown away. Wonder Woman started towards the house, when Batman pulled her back.

"What are you doing?!" She yelled, "There are people in there!"

"Buildings on this side of town are all fed by gas lines!" Batman yelled back, "When these things go up, they become time bombs-"

Before Batman could finish his sentence, the whole house quivered for a moment, the flames drew in on themselves, and the house shattered in a million burning shards of wood. The explosion also threw ace through what was left of a wall, holding a frail woman in his arms. He hit the ground on his feet and ran for a few yards, before another explosion threw him back to the ground, but out of range of the inferno.

The League ran to his side, abandoning the doomed house. Ace had propped the woman up, but was doubled over himself, clutching his ribs, and several bad burns.

"She's alright," J'onn said checking the woman over, "Her breathing is a bit erratic, but-"

"No," Ace hacked, "She has a heart condition. She needs to get to hospital!"

"I'll take her," Superman said taking the woman in hi arms, "There'll be fewer questions if I go."

"He…took her…." The woman said in a weak voice, " He took Anna…."

Ace said something to himself, before staggering to his feet.

"I swear, I'll bring her back."

There was something in his eyes that the League had never seen before. It was as if a demon had been awakened from the depths of Ace's soul and threatened to destroy everything in its path.

"I'll kill him…." Ace snarled in a raspy voice as Super man flew off, "Rip him apart and toss him to the wind."

Wonder Woman Looked at Ace's wounds. Burns across his back were severe, and she was sure he'd broken several ribs.

"You aren't in any condition to be going after anyone," She said, "You should be going to the hospital too. Let us take care of Argon-"

"NO!" Ace yelled, " I am going to make him pay for this. I am going to tear him apart and make him regret every moment of his miserable existence."

"And how are you going to get there?" Hawkgirl asked

"Yeah," Flash agreed, "It looks like your flying lizard thing flew the coop on ya'."

"Call me that again," a deep voice rumbled behind them, "And you're going to be medium-well."

From the shadows, a mass of ebony scales emerged as if the night had come to life around them. Two wings lay folded in great membranous stacks on its back, and a coal black eye that shimmered like diamonds inspected each of them with careful scrutiny.

"You- you can talk?" Flash stammered, looking more at the dragon's teeth and claws than anything else.

"Humph, just because I walk on four legs does not automatically put me in the same category as _livestock," _It said in plain distaste.

"Knock it off Kyadreon (Pronunciation: Cuh-I-A-Dree-on)," Ace growled, "We're going after Argon. Now."

" 'Bout time," Kyadreon rumbled, stretching out his wings to the fullest.

"Not without us you're not," Batman objected, "Argon just attacked an innocent person and kidnapped a child. He may be your enemy, but this is _my_ city."

The two locked eyes for a moment, trying to stare the other down, until Kyadreon broke the face-off.

"We can't do this alone Ace," Kyadreon reasoned, "Swallow your pride for a moment and use your head. Argon won't be alone. Someone will have to entertain his guards or you'll have to fight them all at once, and I can't fit into a building very easily."

Ace sighed, and looked away to the sky for a moment, before facing the League again.

"We'll need an attack plan," he said at last.

Batman dropped to his haunches and began drawing a map in the dirt.

"The factory has three sides that face land, the south faces out to Gotham bay," He said as he drew and pointed to the east and west sides, "These two don't have very much cover since they both lead out into a storage yard. They're good for an ambush, but not for sneaking up on anybody."

"That's where Argon's henchmen will be then," Ace said marking the place in his mind.

"Probably, so we should mount our attack coming in from the south-," Batman continued.

"No," Ace cut in, "Argon will expect that. Besides, there's no place to land coming in that way,"

"So what do you suggest?"

"Simple," Ace said, "You, Flash and myself will take Kyadreon and come in from the north, we'll draw the fire from the sides, while the rest of you split up and attack them from behind."

"Why me and Bats?" Flash asked looking nervously at Kyadreon.

"Because I need you to search the factory for a way inside once we get there," Ace explained, "This place may look like an old factory, but I guarantee Argon's made it a fortress."

"Besides Flash," Batman added, "I can't fly, and we can't afford to slow anyone down."

"This may just work," Hawkgirl said reviewing the plan, "Ambushing the ambush."

"I agree," J'onn nodded, "I would assume you've done this before?"

Ace chuckled darkly to himself.

"If only you knew."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gotc: Not bad, not bad. crickets chirp Uh…Squeaky? Where's Ace?

Squeaky: Squeak. (Dunno. Lara ran off with a sack about an hour ago….)

Gotc: I wondered why it was so quiet. Eh. Oh well. Remember to R&R everyone!!!!


	13. The Silent War

G.O.T.C.: Wow…It's been a while huh?

Ace: You've been gone?

G.O.T.C.:………Anyhoo……Sorry I haven't updated in a while folks. Calculus took up waaaaaay more of my life this past year than I thought possible.

Ace: It would've gone faster if you would have acctually done your homework.

G.O.T.C.: Yeah…. But where's the fun in that?

Ace: Rolls eyes Whatever. I'm going to go get a front row seat.

G.O.T.C.: To what?

Ace: You'll see………….

G.O.T.C.:…….Oooooookay….Squeaky!! Disclaimer!!

Squeaky: Squeak! (Back in bussiness y'all!! No ownage here. Just Ace!)

--

_Rise of the Guardian__:_ _Ancient_ _Power, Modern Age_

CHAPTER 13: The Silent War

"Nuh-uh. There is absolutly no way you guys are making me get on that thing-" Flash said before Kyadreon's head swivled around to glade fiercly at him.

"You either get on or stay here," Ace said firmly,climbing onto Kyadreon's back, "There's no room to screw up, so there's no room for negotiating."

"Yeah, but couldn't we take the Javalin or something?" Flash whined tenativly creeping his way onto the dragon's back as well.

"How long would it take to power it up, get it in the air, fly it over, land, then get off?" Ace asked helping Batman on as" the rest of the League took off.

"I dunno," Flash shrugged, "Two minutes, three at the most. Why?"

"Because,"Ace grinned, "We're going now."



Kyadreon lurched into the air with a single heave of his massive wings, quickly gaining altitude with every wimgbeat. Ace was balanced effortlessly behind the wing joints, but Batman and Flash were trying to hold on for dear life. Ace cast an amused glance over his shoulder, as he looked at the two heroes.

"I wouldn't straddle Kye like that for too long," Ace called over the wind, "Not unless you want to have kids someday."

Ace couldn't quite hold back his laugh as Flash litterally held onto Kyeadreon's back by nothing more than his fingertips. Batman's reaction wasn;t quite as dreastic, but he did reposition himself into a less "compromising" seat. Ace turned his attention back to the situation in front of him. These guys had no idea the war they were about to involve themselves in. Even Argon, as foul a creature as he was, was only the tip of the iceburg.

"_The sooner I can leave these guys behind, The better off they're going to be…."_

Batman couldn't tell exactly where they were with the wind lashing at his eyes, but he could _feel_ it somehow. At first, the feeling sent a familiar hill down his spine, like the one he had felt when Wonder Woman's heart had stopped. Of course now, it wasn't quite the same. There was an edge of anticipation, sorrow, and a burining anger that seemed to surround him, and it took a moment to realize that the feeling was pouring off of Ace. In the span of a few seconds, the smile had vanished from his face, and a fire had been lit behind his saphire eyes.

The sound of a gunshot quickly caught his attention, as Kyadreon veered sharply, then banked towards the now visable warehouse. An eruption of gunfire sounded in the night, as Kyadreon swooped down on top of a group of the guards. He roared in pain as bullets peppered his wings, but did not halt his charge. Most of the group scattered as the dragon attacked, but two stayed and took aim at Kyadreon's head.

Ace acted instantly, using Kyadreon's head as a spring board, and launched himself into the men, catching them both across the chest and throwing them across the pavement. In the same motion, he pulled the blade from the sheath on his back, and took off at a run as a spray of bullets assulted the spot he'd been standing.

"Alright you two," Kyadreon said whipping his head around, "This is where you get off!"

Before even Flash had a chance to respond, Kyadreon knocked both heroes off his back with a slap of his tail. Batman quickly pulled his grappling hook and swung to the ground, while Flash hit the ground running and promptly knocked two gunmen unconcious.

"Flash!" Ace yelled from the middle of a fight with several thugs, "Check the perimmiter! See if you can find us a way in!"



"You got it!" Flash said dropping another guard, before taking off out of sight.

"I hope you have a better plan than this!" Batman said, hurdling another batarang into an attacker's chest, "Because there's too many here for us to hold off ourselves!"

"Thanks for the observation!" Ace snapped back, "But there is no plan if we can't get inside!"

"And I'm here to tell you guys there's not!" Flash said returning, and taking out a small knot to gunmen trying to sneek up on Ace and Batman, "This place looks like it's about to collapse, but the whole thing's been reenforced!"

"You sure?" Ace asked, knocking the butt of his sword into someone's head.

"Sorry dude," Flash shrugged, "This place is a fortress. Even if Superman were here, I don't even think he could get through those walls."

Ace lashed out with his sword, angrily bringing down a tower of crates on top of another group.

_"This isn't like Argon. He's holed himself inside." _Ace said tto himself,forcing himself to think,_ "It's a trap. It has to be. He wants us to find our way inside, but not be able to make our way back out again. Still….That means there must be a way in somewhere…"_

The click of a gun snapped Ace's focus back as he found himself staring down the barrel of a gun.

"Drop em' buddy," One of the men sneered, cocking the rifle once to make his point.

Ace glanced at Batman and Flash with a coniving look, before peering just over the top of the man's head.

"If you say so," he shrugged before all of them dropped to the ground at once, just as a beam of green light caught the men and threw them over their heads.

"You guys need a hand?" Lantern said hovering just above them, as the rest of he League shot past.

" 'Bout time," Ace muttered under his breath, before running towards the building "I need you guys to keep those thugs busy while I find a way into the factory-"

"I'm telling you," Flash said, "There's no way in!"

Ace didn't stop running, but instead just looked over his shoulder with a smirk.

"There's _always_ a way…"



"Hold on!" Batman called after him, "You're not going in alone!"

But Ace had already vanished amongst the confusion of the fight. Batman looked up to see Wonder Woman toss a man into the side of a dumpster, and snap his weapon in two.

"Diana!" He shouted at her above the din, "Help me find Ace! He's going into the factory alone!"

"How? I thought Flash said there was no way in."

Batman did a quick 360. The place looked ramshackle at first glance, but now he could see steel plating underneeth the brick where the original construction had fallen away. But his eyes settled on a stack of pallettes that had been shoved roughly aside, near the corner of the building. At the very base, a small window had been smashed open, leading inside.

"Diana! This way!" Batman called, running for the window, "It looks like Ace found a way in after all…."

--

G.O.T.C.: Finally…

Ace: You're just now getting done?

G.O.T.C.: Glares

Ace: Ummm….Please R&R and all that good stuff. We don't want our authoress to be in a bad mood now do we? Do we?...Please?


	14. Mortal Gods

G.O.T.C.:….Hmm…I just realized something. The "original" ROTG 1 was only like 10 chapters….

Ace: You say that like it's a bad thing.

G.O.T.C.: Goes to beat Ace Awww…forget it. I'm sleepy and I want to do this chapter. Squeaky!

Squeaky: Squeak. (Yawn. You still need people to read this?)

G.O.T.C.: Eh, I guess not. On to the fic then!!

--

_Rise of the Guardian:__Ancient Power, Modern Age_

CHAPTER 14: Mortal Gods

The window was an extremely tight squeeze, but the two Leaguers managed to wiggle into a small dark storage room. Batman quickly adjusted the lenses of his cowl for night-vision, though most of the room still remained dark.

"There's a door to the left," Wonder Woman said quietly, taking Batman's hand and pulling him in the right direction. He should have known Wonder Woman would have been able to see.

The door opened with the faintest creek of its hinges, and opened into the darkened factory. A faint light penetrated through dusty windows high up on the walls, making it much easier to see their surroundings. Machines stood silently, like forgotten giants, all over the factory floor. Giant mixers still held a molten mixture that resembled tar, and large compact bricks sat drying on long stretches of conveyer belts. Batman picked up one and scratched it's black surface, causing it to shed a thin layer of fine black powder.

"Shade…" He said setting the brick back down.

"There must be enough here to supply the whole city for weeks.." Wonder Woman said looking around and taking a quick inventory.

"Not just this city," Batman said, "This place is perfect to send out shipments to Metropolis too."

"_**ARGON!!**_"

Ace's enraged voice tore through the silence of the abandoned factory. His footsteps fell heavily from the floor above them. He was making no effort to hide his presence here. Batman and Wonder Woman took off for a set of stairs to the upper levels, staying as silent as they could. 

The second floor was just as massive as the last, but this one had been cleared of all it's machinery. Most was packed into greasy crates scattered about the room, while a few pieces were still standing on the floor. The two ran for the cover of one group of crates, as Ace stormed into sight.

"Coward!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, "Show yourself!!"

"My my…..What a temper we have developed… You'd think after five years, you would have learned a bit more patience…" A smooth voice spoke from somewhere in the room.

Batman and Wonder Woman's heads swiveled around to try and find the source of the new voice. Standing on the deck of a supervisor's platform, was Argon. Ace's face immediately contorted with rage, as he struggled to form a coherent sentence.

"Where…Is…Anna…You slimy bas-" Ace growled through clenched teeth, sword already in his hand.

"Always right to the point," Argon chuckled, as if this were no big deal, "That much hasn't changed I suppose. I must say, my friend, I didn't quite recognize you at first. Without your little sidekick and all. What was the boy's name again? Cory? Casey? Cody?"

" Don't you dare say his name!!" Ace roared.

"Ah!"Argon cried with obvious delight at Ace's fury, "It _was_ Cody. Well, it's been five years, and you can't possibly expect me to remember the name of _everyone_ I've had to kill…"

Batman and Wonder Woman exchanged glances. Argon had just confirmed everything. He had been the one responsible for Cody's death five years ago.

"It's too bad really.." Argon continued, "The boy had such promise…"

Ace's knuckles were white were he clenched his blade. Only the most steeled self-control was keeping him from ripping Argon's head off at this point.

"I am surprised at you though, my friend," Argon said, walking along the length of the platform, "I would have thought that losing Cody would have taught you a lesson about "teaming up" with others…"

A tingle suddenly ran down Batman's spine as Argon locked eyes with him. A foot connected with the back of his skull, throwing both him and Wonder Woman into the open. His vision spun for a moment, before he felt the edge of cold steal pressed against his neck. A young man with sandy blond hair and cold green eyes held the end of two twin swords to both his own and Wonder Woman's necks. He cast a glance at Ace, who's face had gone pale with horror at the sight of the two.



"Let them go!" He demanded.

"Hmm…," Argon contemplated mockingly, "I don't think so… You apparently didn't learn from our last encounter, so I think it'll be good for you to have a refresher on the matter. Don't you think Zariah?"

"I couldn't agree with you more Master." The young man said raising both blades to strike.

Without thinking, Batman moved in front of the path of both blades. He braced himself for the blow, but never felt it land. What he did hear, was a wet thud, and felt a few drops of blood land on his cowl. He looked up to see Ace facing him, one sword caught in his hand, the other buried deep in his shoulder.

"You guys ok?" He asked, a strange grin on his face, before looking over his shoulder at a stunned Zariah, "You, kid, have just made a huge mistake."

Ace twisted the shoulder one of Zariah's blades had sunk into, and wedged it into the joint, as Zariah tried frantically to pull it free. Dropping down to one hand, Ace swung his leg up, and caught him squarely in the jaw, hurdling him into a pile of crates. Ace pulled the blade free from his arm, but it hung limply at his side.

"I need you guys to do me a favor," Ace said not looking back at the two heroes, "Anna's in that supervisor's office behind where Argon's standing. I need you to get here, then get out."

"What about you?" Wonder Woman said getting to her feet.

"Don't worry about me!" Ace snapped turning towards her, "Just get her and get out-"

Just then, a flash of red collided with Ace, exploding on contact. Ace roared in pain, trying to get back to his feet, as Argon approached them. A red fire seemed to have engulfed both of his arms, glowing brightly with anticipation.

"Sorry, my friend," He chuckled, "All of you are going to die here."

"That's what you think!"

Ace had gotten back to his feet, but he too had a cold fire swirling angrily about both of his arms, only his was a steely cerulean. He lunged at Argon with incredible speed, and slammed hard into him, crashing through several crates.

"Come on!" Wonder Woman said, "We need to help him!"

"Please…." Zariah's voice said as he emerged from the debris of the crates, "You and the rest of your little Justice League may be the titans of this world, but those two? They are gods."



"Of course," He continued, picking up his bloodied swords, "Killing a few titans might just give _me _ a good workout."

--

G.O.T.C.: Two chapters in two days. You all should be proud.

Ace: Of _WHAT?_ You had the day off and did nothing else today! They shouldn't encourage you for that!

G.O.T.C.: Oh yeah?! And what did you do today? Hmm?

Ace: I watched a "Star Wars" marathon. And made popcorn.

G.O.T.C.: You so have no room to talk. Anyway R&R please people! My favorite scene in this whole fic is coming up in the next chapter, and I need the motivation to make it good!!


	15. Painful Decisions

GOTC: Sobs

Ace: What's your problem?

GOTC: No reviews…..

Ace: Well, maybe if you had posted more often….

GOTC: Oh, what do you know?

Ace: Well-

GOTC: That question doesn't need an answer.

Ace: Humph.

GOTC: Oh well! People won't read if nothing gets updated!! Besides, this chapter has my favorite scene in it! Squeaky!! Let's get things movin'!!

Squeak: Squeak! (Post time people! Look alive!)

--

_Rise of the Guardian: Ancient Power, Modern Age_

CHAPTER 15: Painful Decisions

It was hard to looks away from Ace and Argon as they engaged each other. Batman knew there was something different about Ace, but the glowing arms were pushing it.

"It's called aura," Zariah said approaching the two Leaguers menacingly, guessing the question that was on their minds, "Some Martial Arts masters have trained their bodies and minds to the point where they can even stop and start the beating of their own hearts. Those two over there have been able to take that technique a step further, by harnessing their very life-force to use as a weapon."

"And how do you know so much about it?" Batman said carefully circling his foe.

"Please," Zariah chuckled, "Argon is my master, and I would be foolish not to try and learn such a powerful technique from him."

Batman tensed as he noticed a slight shift in Zariah's stalking pattern, and a smile crept over the blond's face.



"Although, I do admit I am partial to steel," He laughed a bit sadistically, "There's just something about the way it feels as metal meets flesh!"

The boy's speed was incredible. Batman hardly had the time to catch one of the blades in the spikes of his gauntlets. The other however, he saw come down straight at his head, before a hand shot out and grabbed a hold of Zariah's other arm.

"I've got him Diana," Batman said glancing at the Amazon next to him, "Go get the girl and get her out of here!"

"And what about you?" She asked, as a blast rocked the floor.

"I'll be fine, I can handle this guy, but I have a feeling this factory isn't going to last much longer with those two over there!" Batman said through clenched teeth.

"Sorry to break this up," Zariah said slamming his head into Batman's, then spun around and delivered a kick to Wonder Woman's side, "But I hate to be kept waiting!"

He charged Wonder Woman while she was still reeling from his kick, but a Batarang collided with his shoulder, and exploded. As Zariah backed out of the smoke cloud, Batman's fist connected solidly with his jaw.

"Go!" Batman yelled at Wonder Woman as he continued his assault.

With a burst of speed, Wonder Woman launched herself into the air and sped towards the supervisor's office. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see flashed of red and blue exploding in bursts somewhere to her right, followed by a loud crash and wave of heat. She landed on the balcony of the office and forced her way through the locked door. Inside was dark, and nothing moved in the office.

"Diana?" A tiny voice said peeking out from under a desk, before running at her and wrapping her arms around her legs.

"Anna!" Wonder Woman said kneeling down to check the girl over, "Are you ok? Did he hurt you?"

"No," She said sobbing, "He-he said he was going to hurt Ace!"

As if on cue, Ace came crashing through the floor of the office and collided with the far wall of the office. Through the floor in the hole, Wonder Woman saw a growing red glow, and a wave of heat. Suddenly, a strong arm grabbed her from behind, and jumped through the window.

"Close your eyes!" Ace roared as they burst through the glass, just as the office behind them exploded in a fireball. Ace grunted in pain as something caught him across the back, knocking Wonder Woman and Anna out of his grip. Wonder Woman righted herself in the air, but Ace 

crashed to the floor below, as Argon charged him again. Smoke has started to billow in the factory, and Wonder Woman could see small fires starting to flare up, fueled by the numerous crates of greasy machinery parts. Wonder Woman started for the exit, when she realized Batman and Zariah had vanished, and more explosions were echoing from the floor below.

With Anna in her arms, she raced down the stairwell, only to have a cloud of greenish smoke billow up to meet her. She had to land on the stairs, as the smoke burned her lungs and eyes. As she continued down the stairs, she saw Zariah running back up at her. He didn't try to attack, but simply passed her by, giving her a smug and satisfied smirk. He heart fell as she broke into the lower floor. A green haze hovered in a thick cloud over the floor, and small fires were quickly becoming much larger ones. A small explosion caught her attention, as she saw a brick of shade become engulfed in flame, and detonate into a thousand red hot clumps, triggering a catastrophic domino effect. The shade may has well have been gunpowder. And as it exploded, a puff of the greenish smoke formed to add to the still growing haze.

"BATMAN!!" Wonder Woman yelled, trying to find her colleague in the haze, when Anna coughed violently several times before falling completely limp in her arms.

Abandoning her search for the moment, Wonder Woman rushed for the window they'd entered through, and out into the open air. She ran out further away from the building, and found Flash bundling up a group of the gunmen.

"Flash! Take the girl! I need to go back inside!" She said flying up to the Scarlet Speedster and shoving the unconscious girl into his arms.

"What? Wait!" He sputtered at the sudden command, "Wonder Woman!"

But she was already pulling herself through the tiny window, and into a living hell. The fire now had the makings of an inferno, as it swept across the factory floor with a ravenous hunger. It was hard to make out where she was in the firestorm, and the haze was becoming disorienting, clouding her mind as well as her eyes.

A sudden explosion erupted from somewhere above her, and a part of the floor above crashed down on top of her. She heard the sound of her arm break, rather than feel it, as the hot debris rained down from above. With her good arm, she managed to shove off the slab that was responsible for the break, and stagger back to her feet. She coughed again as she inhaled more of the foul smoke. Her ribs protested in pain, not broken, but badly bruised. Her head was beginning to spin in time with the dancing flames, when through the haze, she spied the outline of a prone figure pinned beneath a steel garter.

--

Ace's whole body was protesting the violent treatment it was receiving, but the pain was shoved to the far corner of his mind. He was too focused on destroying the man in front of him, and 

making him pay for what he'd done to Cody. He felt the satisfying crack as his fist connected squarely with Argon's jaw and sent him reeling. Argon grabbed a hold of a crate to steady himself and began to laugh.

"I'm disappointed in you my friend," He said wiping the blood away that trickled from his lip, "Five years of brooding, and anger, and _this_ is the best you can do?"

The words spurred Ace into a fury, barreling into Argon, then taking a hold of his collar, threw him into a wall, cracking the cement. Before Argon could recover, Ace sunk a fist deep into his gut, with a sounding crack of bone, then grabbed his throat as Argon sank to his knees.

"You haven't even begun to see what I can do," Ace snarled, "I am going to make you suffer for what you did to Cody."

"No," Argon laughed, "No you won't. That was your one flaw my friend; you don't have the stomach to do what needs to be done, even to those who truly deserve it. You've seen too much death to be the cause of it yourself-"

Ace tightened his grip around Argon's neck, choking off the rest of his sentence.

"You haven't seen me in five years," Ace said darkly, "That's more than enough time for a person to change, isn't it?"

"Then let's see you do it," Argon taunted in a hoarse whisper, "Go on, kill me."

Ace slammed Argon against the wall again, and pulled back his fist to strike. But instead of ramming it through his skull, it hovered in mid-air uncertainly. Argon began to laugh again.

"You see?" He laughed, "You're weak. You can't kill me. _I _ however, have no problem taking out those in my way."

A sudden movement caught Ace's eye, as Argon flicked a vial at him, shattering in his face. Ace released his grip on Argon and stumbled backward, after inhaling a large amount of Shade. All at once he felt his entire body freeze, as Argon stood back up.

"Wonderful drug Shade," Argon said smugly, "Your body won't be overcome quite as quickly, and once you can move again, you'll have more enough power to hunt me down and finish your botched job."

Just then, Zariah ran up next to Argon, with a triumphant smile.

"But then again," Argon laughed quietly, "I doubt your little friends will survive long enough for you to kill me. But that's your choice, not mine."

Zariah helped Argon to another staircase on the other side of the floor, and disappeared in the smoke, but Ace could still hear his laugh over the roar of the inferno.



At last, Ace could feel his body begin to adjust to the drug pounding through his veins, but he remained rooted to the spot. His eyes were dark, and he hung his head in frustration, fists clenched so hard blood trickled over his knuckles. A single tear splashed to the dusty floor at Ace's feet.

"I'm so sorry." He said before taking off running.

--

GOTC: I love that last part!

Ace: Yes…And I'll bet _everyone_ loves it when you write a cliffhanger like that.

GOTC: Aww….come on. You got to admit that last part was good!!

Ace: I don't have to do anything.

GOTC: Then why are you in this story?

Ace: Readers, please review and shut her up. If not for her, for me. PLEASE!!


	16. Firestorm

GOTC: YEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!

Ace: What is your problem?

GOTC: The posters are back!! People are reading this again!! I feel new life coming back to me now!!

Ace: You people seriously don't have anything better to do? Read a book by a real author? Find a cure for cancer? Play in traffic?

GOTC: You get brain damage from that last one.

Ace: No more than they get from reading this.

GOTC: You know Lara came back from Europe yesterday right?

Ace: 0.o What?!

GOTC: Yep. Said something about coming over for something today too…..Ace? Hmm. Musta gone to go get ready. Moving on, SQUEAKY!! DISCLAIMER!!

Squeaky: Squeak! (You think Lara brought me a keychain from France? What? You people already know the routine!)

GOTC: Indeed. So let's get going!

--

_Rise of the Guardian: _Ancient Power, Modern Age

CHAPTER 16: Firestorm

Wonder Woman's ribs violently protested as she tried to move the steel beam that had her teammate pinned, but part of the upper floor had collapsed on top of the far end, keeping it solidly in place. The flames were dancing closer and closer with every passing second, and she had only managed to move the beam a few inches. She slammed her fist on the beam in frustration, when another noise in the background caught her attention.

"Diana!" Ace's voice yelled through the smoke and flames.



"Over here!" She called back, as Ace emerged through a wall of fire. In an instant, he was there at her side, looking the situation over.

The beam was getting hotter by the second, as more and more burning debris piled on top of the beam. Ace followed Wonder Woman's suit, and forced himself under the garter and tried to lift it off of Batman. The steel creaked and groaned under the stress, and even began to bend, but it wasn't enough.

Ace had to stop for a moment, as a vicious wave of coughing came over him. More than once, a black tar came away in his hand, but he was too preoccupied to notice.

"The damn thing'll bend, but it won't budge!" Ace yelled to no one in particular.

"What about cutting _through _it?" Wonder Woman said pointing to the sword on Ace's back, "If the metal's hot enough to bend, then maybe we could cut through it."

"Bending and cutting are two different things!" Ace shouted back, "And we'd need this thing to be white-hot in a single place, not roasting in this giant oven!"

"Yeah, and what was it that started this oven?"

Ace couldn't help but grin as it dawned on him what Wonder Woman was talking about. He pulled the blade from his back and tossed it to Wonder Woman, then hopped onto the beam, and pressed two glowing hands to the hottest part of the metal. He could feel heat rolling off of the steel in waves, and the exposed skin of his hands begin to sear and blister from the temperature.

It seemed like an eternity had passed before the metal began to glow a steady white color. Sweat poured off of Ace's face both from the heat, and the effort of maintaining the energy in such a concentrated spot. He swung down under the beam, and planted his feet before nodding to the Amazon princess.

The blade came down in a crash of metal and sparks, and for a brief moment, Ace thought that it hadn't worked, until he felt the weight of the beam crash onto his shoulders. He could feel the shade in his veins suddenly kick in, and a new kind of strength hammer through his body. Slowly, Ace managed to lift the severed beam up enough for Wonder woman to drag Batman's body out from underneath it.

"Can you carry him?" Ace panted as he let the beam fall to the ground.

"Yes, but I don't think I can carry both of you out of here," Wonder Woman said Holding onto the Dark Knight with her good arm.



"Don't worry about me, just get him and let's go!" Ace said grabbing his sword before rushing into the swaying walls of fire.

Wonder Woman leapt into the air behind Ace, but was forced close to the ground as more and more debris fell from the ceiling. In fact, the whole room seemed to sway in time with the roaring flames around them. Below, Ace wasn't doing so well. Wonder Woman watched him stumble and nearly fall on his face several times, only to catch himself and continue running.

They were coming up on the storage room, when a loud creak above caught Wonder Woman's attention.

"ACE! Look out!" She cried as a portion of the upper floor crashed down in front of them, completely blocking their exit.

Ace dove to the side just in time, but roared in frustration as their way out vanished in the cloud of smoke.

"NO!" He roared, punching the remains of the floor section as hard as he could. He felt several bones break on impact, but the pain was so far back in his mind he didn't care.

"_We need another way out,"_ He forced himself to think,_ "Argon fixed this place to keep us __out__, but not __in__…."_

"Diana!" Ace called hitting on an idea, "We need to find an entrance to a loading bay somewhere on this floor! If we can force our way through the bay door, then we can get outside!"

"Why not just punch a hole in the wall now?" She yelled back, "This heat's made them paper thin-"

"Break one of those walls now, and the building will be on top of us before we're out the hole," Ace said starting to head in the direction they'd come, "But the bay door will have more support around the frame, and give us a little more time!"

Wonder Woman scanned the area, and found what they were looking for just to their left. Some debris was piled in the doorway, making any possible entry difficult, but it wasn't impassable.

"Ace! Over here!" She called landing next to the entrance.

"That was fast," He panted, "You go in first, and I'll help Batman through once you're in."



Wonder Woman nodded, and began to squeeze through the gap at the top of the doorway, being careful not to jar her arm too badly.

"Ok," She said taking a breath of much cleaner air, "I'm through!"

Seconds later, Batman's head poked through the hole, and she pulled him through as well, losing her balance in the process. She lay dazed for a moment, staring up at the ceiling, when she noticed a large pipe running along its length. It took her a moment to realize the bay had a faint odor of rotten eggs, before a faint hiss reached her ears.

"_Buildings on this side of town are all fed by gas lines!" _Batman's voice came back to her,_ "When these things go up, they become time bombs…"_

Just through the gap, Wonder Woman could see flames licking at Ace's heels as he tried to force his way through.

"Ace! The gas main runs right through-"

She never finished her sentence. Ace crawled through the last few inches and hit the ground running, as the whole building seemed to take a deep breath. Time slowed down around them, as a wall of fire burst through the wall they'd just come through and rushed at them. Ace caught Wonder Woman around the middle and practically threw her into the air with one arm, as the other began to glow one more time. She flew through the air as fast as she could, the worry about the closed steel door at the end of the bay lost in the turmoil…

A pillar of cerulean energy literally ripped the door off of its hinges, and plowed it into the next building, as Ace, Wonder Woman, and Batman were all launched out of the opening, followed closely by a burst of flame. A shimmer of green light quickly surrounded the three, just before they hit the ground, and towed them away from the raging inferno behind them.

"What took you guys so long in there?" Lantern joked, "We were done ages ago!"

"Yeah," Ace coughed weakly, "Thanks for the help…"

Lantern carefully set the three on the ground next to the rest of the League members, before dispelling the protective barrier.

"Batman needs medical attention," Ace started, "And a search needs to be started for-"

"Whoa, slow down there pal," Hawkgirl said interrupting, "Batman's not the only one who need some medical attention. You're not looking too good yourself right now."



"I'm still on my feet," Ace pointed out, before something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye.

On the rooftop of an adjacent building, he could just barely make out the shape of two people watching them from above. Ace turned, and took two steps, before his body gave out on him. He hit his hands and knees, and hacked up a large quantity of tar, before convulsing violently and passed out on the pavement.

--

GOTC: Ok readers, sorry to keep ya all waiting! Just let me say one more time how happy I am that this story has readers again-

Ace: So this is your, what, 26th time you've said this?

GOTC: 27th actually, but that's hardly the point. The fact is people are reading, therefore, I shall keep writing!!

Ace: Joy….

GOTC: Just remember to R&R everyone, and I'll see you next chapter!!


	17. Answered with a Question

Gotc: Storytimenow!!

Ace: Sorry folks, she's been pretty pressed for time these last few days, and the stress is starting to wear on her.

Gotc: SQUEAKY!!DISCLAIMER!!

Squeak: Squeak? (They still need it?)

Ace: Probably not, but something says a lawsuit wouldn't be good for the crazy person's health.

Squeaky: Squeak. (True. So on with the fic then?)

Ace: Yep. Enjoy everyone!

--

_Rise of the Guardian: _Ancient Power, Modern Age

CHAPTER 17: Answered with a Question

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Flash yelled seeing Ace collapse to the ground.

"It's Shade," Wonder Woman swore, "He must have inhaled some of it while we were inside!"

"Great, we know _where _he got it, but how do we help him?" Hawkgirl said kneeling next to Ace's convulsing body, "He was the only one who knew how to make the antidote."

"Not quite," A raspy voice cut in.

Batman had finally come around, and was rubbing his throbbing head. He reached into a pocket on his utility belt, and pulled out a filled syringe.

"I saved some from the batch he made for Diana," He said getting to his feet, trying not to wince as pain flared up across his back, "Though it might be useful. Turned out I was right."

"And where are you going?" Wonder Woman asked as Batman started to walk away.

"The hospital," He said curtly, before glancing back at Ace, "I have some questions that I'd like answered."

"Batman-" She started.

"You and J'onn can take him to my place," Batman said as the Batmobile pulled up from the shadows, "I'll meet you there."

Wonder Woman sighed as Batman drove off into the fading twilight. J'onn stood up after giving Ace the shot, and placed his hand on her shoulder.



"Come on, I'll take a look at your arm as soon as we make sure Ace is stable," J'onn said hefting Ace.

--

Sarah was sound asleep in the bed, her heart monitor keeping a steady rhythmic tone. Superman had even nodded off in the chair next to the bed, but woke almost instantly as Batman entered the room.

"You should be in bed," The Man of Steel chided Batman as he walked into the room, "J'onn updated me on what happened at the factory."

"It's nothing," Batman said, not breaking his stride towards Sarah's bed.

"And was it a good idea to take Ace back to your place?" Superman continued, "What if Ace figures out who you-"

"He's there, Superman," Batman said leveling a glare at him, "Because he already has. And I'm hoping she can help tell me how."

Batman lightly rested a hand on the sleeping woman's shoulder, and her eyes groggily fluttered open.

"Anna?" She said incoherently, before her eyes focused on her visitor.

"No, but your daughter is safe," Batman said assuringly, "I do have some questions I was hoping you could answer."

"About what?" Sarah asked puzzled.

"Ace."

Sarah sighed and laid her head back against her pillow, before readjusting herself in her bed.

"I don't suppose there's anything else you'd like to ask is there?" She said trying a half-hearted smile at Batman's unwavering stare, "I thought not."

"How did you meet Ace?" Batman asked.

Sarah looked out of the window of her room at the coming dawn and sighed before looking back at Batman.

"It was about five years ago. I had just been diagnosed with my…condition, and Anna's father had been gone for months when we found Ace," Sarah began.

"Wait? Found?" Superman asked.

"That's right," Sarah nodded, "He was a mess too. I remember the night he stumbled into our lives. Anna was asleep in my arms, and I was just getting ready to put her to bed, when I heard a loud noise outside. I thought maybe it was some teenagers from one of the local gangs tossing our trash cans. I grabbed a bat and went outside and yelled at them, but the only thing I saw was Ace. He was bloody and beaten, and was so skinny he looked like he hadn't have eaten in days. But it was his eyes that scared me."



Sarah looked up from the memory and looked Batman in the face.

"They were so empty and broken," She said shaking her head, "His eyes had completely given up on life, and they were just waiting on the rest of his body to catch up. I pulled him inside, patched him up, and waited. I must have been crazy, taking in a stranger like that, especially when I could hardly afford to feed myself, but there was just something about him. A few days passed, he got better, and as soon as he could walk again, he would leave the house and be gone for hours at a time. I asked him one day what he would do, and he just said he was looking for a friend."

Batman's brow furrowed, as he listened to Sarah continue with her story.

"It went on like that for two months. He never talked about his past, and I never asked. And I'll admit it was strange at first, but when he wasn't wandering Gotham, he would stay at the house and help me with Anna, chores, and anything else he could think of. Several times I would go to pick up my medicine, and find it had already been paid for, though Ace would never admit to it," Sarah said before pausing to take a deep breath, "And then one day, after he came back from walking the city, he left. He had just looked so confused, like someone had pulled the whole world out from under his feet. I was worried he would do something drastic, and we never heard from him again, until a few months ago when he just showed up out of the blue. He wasn't hurt this time, but you could tell nothing had changed in his eyes. They were still just as empty and broken as the day I found him stumbling into my trash cans."

"I'm sorry," She said after a moment, "I don't think I've really helped you at all."

"No," Batman said turning to leave, "You've helped answer some things." _But you've also clouded others…._

Just then Flash came zipping into the room, holding a squealing Anna, who had recovered from the effects of the smoke.

"Shift change!" Flash said sitting down in a chair, before casting a glance at one of the nurses who came in to check on Sarah.

Superman stretched himself out and turned to a retreating Batman.

"You want to get some breakfast Batman?" Superman asked, "I know this little place that serves the best steak and eggs you'll ever eat."

"No thanks," Batman said still deep in thought, "I've still got a few things to take care of before I go to bed."

--

The world seemed to run together like a broken Kaleidoscope, as Ace tried to open his eyes. Sunlight was spilling in from outside, and forced Ace to close his eyes again. He tried to open them again, but slower this time, adjusting to his surroundings.

He was in the middle of a king sized bed, covered in clean bandages and fresh linen. The room was decorated in richly carved mahogany and marble, and several pricy looking vases dotted the room's edge.

Ace tried to sit up, but was unable to bite back the groan as his body protested his movement.

"Welcome back," He heard J'onn's voice say next to him.



"How long was I out?" Ace groaned rubbing his head.

"About twelve hours," J'onn said trying to get him to lay back down, "You shouldn't get up yet, it took a while to clean your injuries, and I'd rather not have to do it again."

"What?" Ace said in surprise, "You patched me up?"

"I did," J'onn said chuckling at Ace's response, "I'm well versed in human physiology."

"Great," Ace said laying back, "The Martian's a doctor…"

"I am curious though," J'onn said, "As to how you got that scar."

"Scar?"

"The one across your shoulder."

"Oh that," Ace shrugged, absentmindedly rubbing the deep scar that ran across his right shoulder, "It was an accident. I was just at the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Well glad to see you up," Superman said walking into the room, followed by Diana and Batman.

"Tell that to my head," Ace said as his headache came back in full force.

"Give it a few hours," Diana chuckled.

"Thanks for the encouragement," Ace said rolling his eyes, "So where's the rest of your little club?"

"Flash is at the hospital with Sarah and Anna," Batman said, "And Hawkgirl and Lantern are back at the factory trying to pick up on Argon's trail."

"They'll never find him," Ace sighed bitterly, "I was hoping he'd been hit in the head on his way out of the building or something…"

"What makes you so sure?" Superman said flopping into a chair.

"Experience." Ace said, "But I still don't know why Argon would have lowered himself to working with drugs. He's more eloquent than that."

"Well, that's why we'd like to talk to you," Diana said, "We'd like you to join the Justice League."

"What?" Ace said in disbelief.

"Argon has the potential to become a real threat, and you seem to know a lot about him and how he operates," Superman said, "You could be a real asset to the team if you were to join-"

"Absolutely not," Ace said grabbing his shirt from the bedstead next to him.

"What? Ace wait!"

"No," He said, "Look, it's something you'll never understand. You guys are heroes, people look up to you when they think there's no hope left, and you manage to pull a miracle out of thin air. I've spent my whole life hiding in the shadows where no one can see me, and that's the way I'd like it to stay."



"Ace, that's not true-" Diana started.

"Don't start Princess," Ace cut her off, "You get flowers from every nation of the world on your birthday. Look, it's nothing against you or the rest of your Justice League, but you don't want me on your team. In fact the sooner you can forget I was even here, the better."

"Ace, hold on," Superman said, "Don't write us off so quick. At least wait until you're healed, and think it over. Please?"

"Fine," Ace said laying back on the pillows, "But don't get your hopes up."

--

Ace couldn't go back to sleep after that. He kept running the conversation over in his head, playing out scenarios, and all of them ended badly, but for some reason, he kept at it, looking for any way that he could stay with the League. Hours passed slowly, and the activity in the house at last died down. Carefully, he climbed out of bed and got dressed. He walked over to the window and pushed it open. He was about halfway through, when he stopped and looked back over his shoulder.

"_Ah…what the hell am I thinking?!"_ He chided himself, _" The sooner I get out of here, the better."_

He silently closed the window, and crossed the lawn of Wayne Manor, where Kyadreon was waiting.

"You look terrible," Kyadreon said, looking his friend over, "Should you even be out of bed yet?"

"You know me better than that," Ace huffed starting to climb onto Kyadreon, "Now come on, we need to be gone before morning."

"Are you sure about this?" The dragon said raising his head as Ace climbed onto his back, "We don't have to leave again-"

"Please Kyadreon," Ace said quietly, "Just go."

"If you say so…" Kyadreon said spreading his wings and heaved them both into the night.

--

GOTC: Only one more chappie to go people!!

Ace: Thank God…

GOTC: Then we start the next story! Who knows? I may feel persuaded to add in a teaser from the next book if you readers would like. So hurry and R&R!!


	18. A Fresh Start

GOTC:…………

Ace: Ok, I'll bite. What are you doing?

Squeaky: Squeak. (Waiting for inspiration.)

Ace: Inspiration? For what? The last chapter?

Squeaky: Squeak. (Yep.)

GOTC:……….

Ace: So let me get this straight….She's written this whole thing, even started the second story, and she's waiting for inspiration- what's that rumbling?

GOTC: I. HAVE. IT!!

Ace: Uh-oh….Squeaky, you want to do the disclaimer before she heads into a frenzy?

Squeaky: Squeak. (Good idea….You all know the drill! Read the fic, review, and the crazy lady owns nothing but Ace and the clothes on her back!)

_Rise of the Guardian__: Ancient Power, Modern Age _

CHAPTER 19: A Fresh Start

Batman sat down in the Cave pouring over images that popped up across the screen of his computer. Most of the images were in hieroglyphics, and completely illegible, being written in a dialect forgotten thousands of years ago. But they all had one thing in common, in each depiction, a faceless man stood with a black sword in one arm, and blue energy surrounding the other.

They weren't all consistent by any means. They all portrayed the man differently, either wearing a helmet or using shadows to obscure his face. And the energy around his arm was different each time, from being a soft glow, or cold fire, to even what looked like lightning crackling around his fist.

"_It's called aura. Some Martial Arts masters have trained their bodies and minds to the point where they can even stop and start the beating of their own hearts. Those two over there have been able to take that technique a step further, by harnessing their very life-force to use as a weapon…."_

Batman sat back in his chair and rubbed his eyes in frustration. Working with the League had put him face-to-face with some of the strangest beings in the universe, but for someone to actually be able to not only access, but _control_ the very essence that caused their heart to continue to beat was something he couldn't wrap his head around.

"_Why not?" _he asked himself, _"I work with three aliens, a man with an alien ring, a science experiment, and an Amazonian princess…"_



But there was still something about Ace that unnerved him. Even looking at the still images on the screen gave him the same cold feeling Ace's stare did. That was part of the reason he had Ace brought to Wayne Manor to recover, always keep your friends close and enemies closer. And until he knew which Ace was, he wasn't about to let him out of his sight.

A beeping caught his attention, as a silent alarm went off in the house. Batman pressed a button and dismissed all of the hieroglyphs from the screen, and zoomed in on the source of the alarm. Ace's room. Quickly, he pressed another button, activating a small tracking device and watched it move towards the city before contacting the rest of the League.

"Wow, that was fast," Lantern remarked as Batman called in.

"Just be ready, he'll be heading your way." Batman said before standing to go meet the rest of the League.

--

Ace looked cautiously around the nearly empty parking lot, before checking the slip of paper the nurse gave him again. She'd said that Sarah and Anna had been released earlier that day, and were staying at this hotel, until they could find a new place to live.

Ace sighed and looked at an envelope in his hand. He shouldn't even be here, but he just needed to make sure they were going to be ok. He strode quickly across the lot and knocked on the room door. For a moment, it seemed like no one would answer, but before he could leave, the door opened.

"Ace?"

Ace's eyes narrowed at Sarah's form standing in the doorway. In a single fluid motion, Ace drew the sword on his back, but Sarah's arm seemed to stretch and move at a blinding pace and struck him hard in one of his still healing injuries.

"Not fair J'onn," Ace coughed, as he staggered backwards and J'onn morphed back into his true form, "Where's Sarah and Anna?"

"Safe," Batman said dropping down behind Ace from the rooftop, "Commissioner Gordon has them both in witness protection in case your friend is still in town."

"Then I guess there's no reason for me to hang around anymore-" Ace started, turning to leave, and running into Superman.

Ace backed up a few steps from the Man of Steel, as the rest of the League emerged behind him.

"You know Ace," Superman started, "You never actually gave us an answer to our offer about joining the League."

"Really?" Ace scoffed, "I thought taking off in the middle of the night would have made for a pretty obvious 'no thanks'."

"Can you at least tell us why?" Wonder Woman asked

"I already have," Ace sighed, "It's just better for everyone if I work alone."

"And did you decide that before or after Cody died?"



Ace looked away unable to meet the eyes of the League.

"Look," Wonder Woman asked, "Just give us a chance?"

Ace sighed and ran a frustrated hand through his hair, and started to pace the parking lot.

"Why me?" He said to no one in particular, "There are so many other heroes out there that would grab at the chance to work side by side with you. And here I've already told you no, and you all come out like an intervention group to get me to join."

"Argon won't let it rest," He went on, "If you become a part of this, he Will. Not. Stop. until each and every one of you is dead or dying at his feet. Do you know that?"

"It's called having an archenemy," Flash shrugged, "Nothing new."

Ace didn't say anything for a moment, and just looked up into the night sky. It was hard to tell what was going on behind his eyes, until he turned and faced the League and pointed directly at Flash.

"The first 'Ace-in-the-hole' joke I hear come out of your mouth-" He said holding back a grin.

Flash never let him finish the sentence. In an instant, he was leaning against Ace, one arm around his neck going on about finding a costume for him.

"I don't do spandex Speedy," Ace said shrugging off Flash's arm, "Or capes. So forget it ok?"

"Awwww come on!" Flash whined as the rest of the League rolled their eyes, "What about a name at least?""

"And what makes you think I don't already have one?"

"Well 'Ace' is alright but not for a superhero name-"

"Wasn't the name I was talking about…"Ace said walking away.

"Really? Then what is it?"

"The Guardian." Ace said nonchalantly glancing over his shoulder.

"The Guardian?" Flash asked puzzled, "Of what?"

--

"We could take them out now Master," A shadow said in the darkness, eyes watching the League's every move.

"No, let him spend some time with his friends," Argon said leaning back against the seat of a dark car, "The money from the Shade was more than enough to meet our friend's initial investment. And besides-"

Argon watched as a smile crept across Ace's face as he walked off with the League.

"-When his time comes, I want to break him."

--

GOTC: IT. IS. FINISHED!!

Ace: Good for you….

GOTC: Come one everyone! After-party!!

Ace: No thanks……

GOTC: Awww…You are no fun at all. I guess I'll just have to put in a sneak peek of the next book in as a substitute…

Ace: You do that. I'm going to watch T.V.

GOTC: Whatever. Viewers!! Behold your first inside look into _Rise of the Guardians: Forbidden Memories_…..

--

The trees were so thick, it was a wonder Kyadreon even knew where he was going as he lead the League through the twisted jungle. IT was a welcome sight to see, as the trees thinned out at last, and they came to a rest at the top of a deep valley. Flowering trees were in full blossom below, and a light breeze carried the fragrant scent up to their lofty perch.

"This place is beautiful…" Hawkgirl remarked, breathing in the air with satisfaction, "Why would Ace hate coming here?"

"Take a closer look at the trees down there," Batman said pulling a pair of binoculars from his eyes, "The trees aren't natural. They're growing in perfectly even rows."

"So?" Flash shrugged, "Everyone likes to take a moonlit stroll through a flowering orchard."

"Maybe," J'onn said quietly, "If it _were_ an orchard."

"What do you mean?"

"That whole valley," Batman said standing up, "Is a graveyard."

"And the sole reason, why Ace became a Guardian," Kyadreon said looking into the valley with mournful eyes.

--

GOTC: That's all you get. Sorry, you'll just have to read the next story when I post it! Be sure to R&R plz!!


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